Week 1: 17th May – 24th May 2025
Week 2: 13th September – 20th September 2025
Join us for a week of walks and talks on the first ever Idler pilgrimage retreat, following the Franciscan Way through the glorious Umbrian countryside.
During our week at Villa Pia, we’ll learn about St Francis of Assisi and walk three short stretches of the Via di Francesco pilgrimage route, starting at an ancient hermitage in the hills and finishing at Assisi.
Along the way we’ll pass through olive and chestnut groves, orchards, vineyards and tobacco fields and we’ll see some of the very greatest Renaissance art. Each stretch will take roughly half a day.
In the company of Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson, philosopher Mark Vernon, and Idler Academy director Victoria Hull, we’ll be talking about the philosophy, science and environmental concerns that sprang from St Francis’ radical ideas. As a rich young man in Assisi in the twelfth century, Francis gave up all his worldly goods in order to spread a message of peace, universal love and respect for the natural world.
Mark Vernon will discuss how St Francis’ love of nature led to the birth of modern science, what role humans have in nature, and the meaning of freedom.
Tom Hodgkinson will discuss the “free spirit” in medieval Italy, how to live well today, his experience of having a monk for a dad, and the meaning of idling.
We’ll be based at Villa Pia on the border of Umbria and Tuscany.
We’ll walk, talk, loaf and feast together.
You’ll go home with new inspiration and great ideas, having had a lot of fun into the bargain.
“I don’t think I have spent so much time in the company of so many warm, easy going souls. Thank you very much for organising this marvellous week. You are both the best of hosts.”
More Information on The Idler website: https://www.idler.co.uk/product/idler-spring-retreat-2025/