Billy Connolly travels to Rome in the first of a six-part series looking at the extraordinary and little-known history of Scottish art. In the 18th century, society gentlemen undertook the Grand Tour, a cultural trip around Europe whereby they completed their education and, in some cases, found artistic inspiration.
Many Scottish artists, among them Allan Ramsay, Henry Raeburn and Gavin Hamilton, made Rome the focus of their journey, immersing themselves in Renaissance art. Meanwhile in Edinburgh, the "Athens of the North", native artists were producing an extraordinary quantity of first-rate work.
An Ecosse production for BBCtv