18th April – 25th April 2026
We are going to be musing on faith and the meaning of life, art and ecology, sainthood and climate change in a week-long retreat run by award-winning writers Joanna Moorhead and Peter Stanford.
Villa Pia sits between St Francis’ hometown Assisi and the wild hilltops of La Verna where he retreated. The week, therefore, will explore St Francis’ life, his influence, and his resonance in a divided modern world, facing growing inequality and the challenge of climate change. Plenty to chew over there, whether you are religious or not, spiritual or sceptical, but yearning for the chance to take a step back and reflect more deeply about where the world is heading and what the past can teach us about shaping a better future.
No figure in the history of Christendom – save of course Christ himself – has had such a monumental impact on the world as Saint Francis. These seven days will be a chance to explore his legacy round the dinner table at Villa Pia, with day trips to both Assisi, where Francis was born and where he established his ministry, and La Verna, the rural outpost to which he retreated later in his life, and where he received his stigmata.
In his dozen years in the Vatican up to his death in 2025, Pope Francis held the figure of this Saint Francis as inspiration to a world-wide audience: an eco-warrior who put care for the marginalised and the environment at the very centre of his enduring mission. And for the past 800 years, Francis has been the religious figure most depicted in art after Christ. Some of the paintings he inspired proved cornerstones of the Renaissance.
Joanna and Peter will draw on their own work as writers, journalists, teachers and broadcasters to consider Francis as a figure for today and for everyone. Sessions will include the meaning of sainthood, deeper insights into Francis’ right-hand woman Clare, and the prominent role Francis is playing in the debate on the balance needed between humankind and nature.
There will also be space to share spiritual insights and opportunities to explore your own creative response to the Francis story – in writing, in art, in sketching and in discussion on recent impressionistic works such Ann Wroe’s Francis: A Life in Songs.
More than anything this week at Villa Pia will see lots of conversation and sharing of ideas, worldly and other-worldly, spiritual and soulful, around the table and in the courtyard – as well as time to swim in the pool and to nestle in the beautiful and inspiring Umbrian countryside, just as St Francis himself once did.
Joanna Moorhead has written two books on her cousin the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. A regular contributor to the Guardian, she is also arts editor of the Tablet, an exhibition curator and teaches at West Dean College. www.joannamoorhead.org
Peter Stanford’s books include biographies as well as explorations of the space in which art, culture and spirituality meet. A features writer on the Telegraph, he is a former editor of the Catholic Herald and is director of the Longford Trust for prison reform. www.peterstanford.org
Price for the week including accommodation, all meals and drinks at Villa Pia, visits and talks:
- a single room with ensuite bathroom: £1800
- a single room with a shared bathroom: £1500
- price per person for a shared room with ensuite bathroom: £1300
For any questions or enquires please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email villapia@villapia.com