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A Pilgrimage in Art: Building Jerusalem in the Italian Alps

Graham Dixon


Regions:
Surrey, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, London, Hampshire
Notice Period:
Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional
Fee:
Unknown: Depending on resources and nature of organisation.
Category:
Humanities
Updated:
15th April 2026

For most people in Renaissance Italy, visiting the places where Christ lived was just a dream. Then as now, travel to the Holy Land was dangerous. From the late 1400s, substitute ‘Holy Lands’ were created on nine mountains in northern Italy, now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The dramatic life-size statues and painted backdrops recreate both biblical scenes and provide replicas of places pilgrims would normally have visited in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In this illustrated talk, we tour of the Holy Mountain of Varallo, the oldest and most elaborate of these pilgrimage sites. While intended for devotion, the patrons of this pilgrimage site were able to engage leading artists, creating an immersive experience.

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About Graham Dixon

Having previously served as Managing Editor, BBC Radio 3, Graham Dixon was Head of Radio at the European Broadcasting Union in Geneva until December 2020. Now living in Surrey, he is a highly experienced speaker, with experience of broadcasting in addition to giving presentations at conferences across four continents.

Graham studied organ at the Royal Academy of Music as Sir John Goss Organ Scholar, before moving from performance to musicology. Following research in Italy and Germany, he was awarded a PhD from Durham for his work on music and ceremony in Baroque Rome. He then joined the BBC as a Producer specialising in early music, later moving into senior editorial and strategic roles.

In 2014 he completed an MA in Buddhist Studies, writing on how the first generation of Buddhist monks transmitted the Buddha's teachings. He continues to write on early Buddhism, and has published two books on the area as well as editing a significant collection of essays.

Living in Limpsfield in Surrey, where the composer Delius is buried, has fostered his interest in local history. He has presented groundbreaking work on the circumstance of Delius’ burial and on his artist wife, Jelka. He recently published a book on the extraordinary people buried in Limpsfield churchyard.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Asiatic Society.


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