Lifelong Learning

Course Description:

What does it mean to encounter the divine through paint and marble? This course offers a deep immersion into the masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque Italy, cultivating visual literacy while exploring the humanism, papal politics, and the spirituality that gave these works meaning.

It examines the aesthetics, patronage, and theology that shaped a sacred visual language, a language so compelling that it traversed continents and empires, leaving its enduring imprint on the very chapels and façades of Macau that we pass each day.

Key Features:
  • Discover the hidden stories behind iconic masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art;
  • Trace the evolution of sacred space from the soaring Gothic cathedral to the theatrical Baroque chapel;
  • Learn about personal ambitions, rivalries, and the breakthroughs that shaped the careers of great masters, including Giotto, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Titian, Caravaggio, and Bernini;
  • Master visual analysis to confidently interpret sacred art and sacred spaces.
Learning Outcome:
  • Identify and describe major historical periods, movements, and stylistic developments in sacred art and architecture from the Gothic era to the High Baroque;
  • Analyse and critically evaluate the role of the visual and material arts in Christian worship and devotional practices;
  • Examine the relationship between sacred works, their architectural settings, and the historical, political, and theological contexts of their production and reception;
  • Apply visual analysis techniques to interpret religious artworks and articulate how they communicate spiritual meaning;
  • Articulate key theological and historical issues surrounding the representation of the sacred, including the tension between artistic creativity and religious orthodoxy.
Study Plan:
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Session Topic
1) The Sacred Gaze: Visual Literacy for the Divine
2) Gothic Cathedrals and the Architecture of Heaven
3) Giotto, Cimabue, and the Birth of Sacred Emotion
4) Painting the Divine Space in 15th century Florence
5) Michelangelo’s Sculptural Drama in the Sistine Chapel
6) Leonardo da Vinci and the Limits of Painting
7) A New Language: Oil Painting in Northern Europe
8) Titian and the Spirituality of Colour in Renaissance Venice
9) Shock and Awe: Caravaggio, the Carracci, and the Birth of the Baroque
10) Bernini’s Theatre of the Divine and the Global Language of Christian Space

 

Details:

Instructor: Dr. Paola Colleoni
Date: 14 October to 16 December 2026 (please refer to detailed schedules)
Time: Wednesday 16:00 – 18:00
Duration: 20 hours（10 sessions）
Detailed Schedules:
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Session Date Time
1 14 October 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
2 21 October 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
3 28 October 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
4 04 November 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
5 11 November 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
6 18 November 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
7 25 November 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
8 02 December 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
9 09 December 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
10 16 December 2026 Wed 16:00 – 18:00
Medium of Instruction: English
Teaching Venue: University of Saint Joseph – Ilha Verde Campus
Delivery of Mode: Face-to-face lecture
Assessment:
  • Class participation: 70%
  • Personal Learning Diary: 30% (to be submitted digitally at the end of the course)
Tuition Fee: MOP2,000
Targeted participants: Adults with interest in sacred art, art history & Catholic heritage
Remark: Personal Learning Diary – Participants are expected to maintain a personal learning diary to track their progress throughout the course. The diary should include observations on key artworks discussed, application of visual analysis techniques learned, and a final reflection on how the course has changed their perception of sacred art. Five entries of 500 words each are required. The diary is submitted digitally at the end of the course.

 

💡 Tuition fee special offered available for: 

┃5% Discount (MOP 1,900)

  • Early-bird application
    ** Applicants who submit a complete course enrollment on or before 02 October 2026 will enjoy the early-bird special offer in this course. Registrants will be notified of enrollment details via E-mail and SMS after we receive the registration. Don’t miss it!

┃10% Discount (MOP1,800)

  • USJ working staff and students
  • Members of AAUSJ (Alumni Association of USJ)
  • Next of kin relationship (spouses, children, and parents), for current internal staff, USJ students, and members of AAUSJ
  • Former LLO students

Notes: the D.S.E.D.J. 2026-2029 Continuing Education Development Subsidy Scheme is NOT available for this course.

Remarks: the above Conditions of eligibility are subject to the terms in the “Policy of Lifelong Learning Public Programmes Tuition Fee Discount” (LLO-529). The full version is available on the LLO website (click here), please be sure to read the Terms and Conditions contained in this document carefully since any use of this tuition fee discount for lifelong learning public courses constitutes your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions set out herein. In the event of any dispute concerning the matters in this document, the Lifelong Learning Office of the University of Saint Joseph reserves all rights to make the final decision.

 IMPORTANT REMARKS (FOR LOCAL AND NON-LOCAL PARTICIPANTS)

  • A certificate of completion will be issued to participants who fulfill an attendance rate of 70% and complete all the coursework requirements.
  • Participants should attend the class on time. Local participants attending face-to-face lectures must sign on the paper attendance sheet with their ID card (no proxy signatures allowed); Non-local participants attending lectures online must log in to the online platform under their real name and attendance status will be recorded by the programme coordinator online. Sign in period of each session will be closed 30 minutes after class starts. The tardy participant will be recorded as absent from the class.
  • Applicant who needs to take leave from class or early leave should notify the Executive Training and Lifelong Learning Office with relevant supporting document(s). Please complete and submit the “Leave Application Form for Lifelong Learning Programmes” to the Office before leave is taken (download form: click here).
  • Participants who fulfill the attendance requirements, complete and pass the course will be awarded a certificate. Local participants will receive a physical certificate, while non-local participants will be issued an electronic certificate. If non-local students wish to obtain a paper certificate, please submit a request by email to the Executive Training and Lifelong Learning Office. All costs and risks associated with mailing services (if any) shall be borne and assumed by the recipient.
  • If a local participant’s certificate needs to be collected up by another individual, the applicant and the proxy must both fill out and sign the “Authorisation Letter for Lifelong Learning Programme Certificate Collection” (download form: click here) and provide the identity card of both party, either in person or in copy, to the Executive Training and Lifelong Learning Office for collection.
  • In the event of any dispute, the University of Saint Joseph reserves all rights to make the final decision. All data will comply with the “Personal Data Protection Act” (Law no.8/2005).
  • Arrangements during bad weather, please click here to view the details.

HOW TO APPLY

A three-step flow of “Registration, Notification, Enrolment” applies.

Applicants should first register (through methods listed in the “Registration” section on our website) during the application period of a Programme. Accepted Registrants will be notified through Email and they must complete the application process which is listed in the email content.

A certificate of completion will be issued for participants fulfilling an attendance rate of 70%.

Withdrawal applications must follow stated policies.

Programmes may be cancelled due to insufficient registration.