Introduction: The Sculptor’s Blueprint

Donatello’s journey—from apprentice to revolutionary—teaches leaders how to carve vision from adversity. By mastering contrapposto and schiacciato, he reshaped Renaissance art, blending classical ideals with raw humanity. This three-day tour traces his footsteps across Florence, revealing how leaders can harness resilience, collaboration, and reinvention to sculpt their legacy.

Timeline

Day	Hero’s Journey Stage	Theme	Locations
Day 1
9:00 AM	Call to Adventure	Awakening to Craft	Orsanmichele (Saint Mark)
11:00 AM	Refusal of the Call	Doubt in the Shadows	Florence Baptistery (Ghiberti’s Gates)
2:00 PM	Crossing the Threshold	Embracing Innovation	Bargello Museum (David, Saint George)
Day 2
9:00 AM	Tests, Allies, Enemies	Masters and Rivalries	Basilica of San Lorenzo (Medici Chapel)
11:00 AM	Approach the Cave	Crisis in Bronze	Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cantoria)
2:00 PM	Transformation	The Breakthrough	Santo Spirito (Penitent Magdalene)
Day 3
9:00 AM	Apotheosis	Legacy in Stone	Palazzo Vecchio (Judith)
11:00 AM	Return with Wisdom	The Eternal Mentor	Santa Croce Basilica (Tomb)
2:00 PM	Resurrection	Immortality Through Form	Uffizi Gallery (Artistic Lineage)

Day 1: Call to Adventure

Location: Orsanmichele (Saint Mark)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s call came with Saint Mark (1411–13), where he fused Gothic rigidity with classical contrapposto. The statue’s lifelike veins and draped robes shattered conventions, teaching leaders that mastery begins by redefining tradition.
Reflection: What “Saint Mark” moment defines your craft?
Question: How do you balance respect for tradition with disruptive innovation?

Day 1: Refusal of the Call

Location: Florence Baptistery (Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s refusal was the shadow of Ghiberti’s gilt perfection. Yet his schiacciato reliefs (like The Feast of Herod) proved depth thrives in subtlety. Leaders learn that comparison stifles; originality liberates.
Reflection: What “Ghiberti” intimidates your voice?
Question: How can understatement become your strength?

Day 1: Crossing the Threshold

Location: Bargello Museum (David, Saint George)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s threshold was David (1440s)—the first freestanding nude since antiquity. Its androgynous grace dared Florence to see vulnerability as power. Leaders learn that true innovation risks ridicule but redefines paradigms.
Reflection: What “David” are you afraid to unveil?
Question: How does embracing fragility strengthen your leadership?

Day 2: Tests, Allies, Enemies

Location: Basilica of San Lorenzo (Medici Chapel)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s tests included Medici patronage’s tightrope. His Pulpit of the Passion (unfinished) shows constraints breed creativity. Leaders learn to collaborate without surrendering vision.
Reflection: What “Medici” challenges your ethics?
Question: How do you maintain authenticity in compromise?

Day 2: Approach the Cave

Location: Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Cantoria)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
The cave was Donatello’s Cantoria (1433–39), where frenzied putti defied solemnity. Leaders confront the abyss: chaos births joy. Donatello’s answer? Embrace unorthodoxy.
Reflection: What “Cantoria” frightens your team?
Question: How can playfulness disrupt your industry?

Day 2: Transformation

Location: Santo Spirito (Penitent Magdalene)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s transformation was Magdalene (1450s)—gaunt, raw, rejecting beauty for truth. Leaders learn greatness demands destroying past selves. Her hollow eyes mirror reinvention’s cost.
Reflection: What version of yourself must die?
Question: How does truthfulness elevate your craft?

Day 3: Apotheosis

Location: Palazzo Vecchio (Judith)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s apotheosis was Judith—a woman beheading tyranny. Multi-perspective design forces viewers to confront complicity. Leaders learn that legends rewrite rules.
Reflection: What “Judith” defines your legacy?
Question: How do you challenge power without losing allies?

Day 3: Return with Wisdom

Location: Santa Croce Basilica (Donatello’s Tomb)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
Donatello’s return was posthumous—his techniques became cornerstones. Leaders learn immortality lies in teaching others. His pupils spread his vision like a relay.
Reflection: Who will carry your torch?
Question: How do you institutionalize innovation?

Day 3: Resurrection

Location: Uffizi Gallery (Artistic Lineage)
Hero’s Journey Stage :
The resurrection is Donatello’s eternal influence—Michelangelo’s David owes him. Leaders learn flow comes from serving a lineage. The Uffizi’s masters prove pioneers birth movements.
Reflection: What movement will your work ignite?
Question: How does your craft honor those before you?

Conclusion: The Leader’s Marble

Donatello’s Hero’s Journey teaches:

1. Depth over spectacle (schiacciato’s subtlety)1.
2. Vulnerability as strength (David’s duality)7.
3. Legacy through mentorship (pupils as torchbearers)3.

Final Questions:

1. Orsanmichele: What “Saint Mark” anchors your legacy?
2. Bargello: How do you balance beauty and truth?
3. Santa Croce: What epitaph will your risks deserve?

“Sculpt not what they expect, but what they need to see.” —Donatello’s unspoken creed.

Tour Details:

• Duration: 3 days
• Start Time: 09:30 AM
• End Time: 10:00 PM
• Cost: € 2.250 per person excluding VAT per person and excluding hotel accomodation

You can book this tour by sending Peter an email with details at peter@wearesomeone.nl

Your Tour Guide

Peter de Kuster is the founder of The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project,  a storytelling firm which helps creative professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lives and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.

Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing,  MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.