The Idler Retreat at Villa Pia!
We’re delighted to be welcoming renowned magazine and online academy, The Idler, to their first retreat here in October — billed as ‘a week of idling, thinking and making things in Umbria’.
The week-long retreat will be hosted by editor/founder Tom Hodgkinson and academy director Victoria Hull.
Idler head of craft Ros Badger will be teaching guests how to make beautiful handcrafted journals, using Japanese bookbinding techniques.
Historian Tom Holland will be their special guest, giving two brief lectures on the history of the Roman Empire.
This promises to be a stimulating and refreshing break in and around Villa Pia’s glorious setting, with plenty of time for reflection and relaxation in our pool, gardens and courtyard. As always, our much-loved kitchen staff will be providing sumptuous delicacies, as part of the all-inclusive food and drinks package.
Idler Retreat: Day Trips
The Idler is also planning a series of trips so that guests can discover the richness of the local area.
Their sample itinerary (as featured on The Idler web site) includes: f
• Trip to the Commune of Arezzo to see the Piero della Francesca frescoes.
• Philosophy Walk, rambling through the Umbrian countryside we shall discuss the purpose of retreat and the philosophy of St Francis.
• Trip to a local flea market in another stunning medieval hill town, Anghlieri, to find fabrics for embroidering.
• Trip to the medieval town of Monterchi, where we’ll see the Madonna del Parto, the radical painting of a pregnant Madonna, held up as an icon of feminism, by Piero della Francesca.
• Cooking Class. Villa Pia’s cooks are local women who learned to make pasta from their grandmothers. They’ll be teaching you to make pasta the traditional way or to make a dish that you have enjoyed during your stay. We’ll finish the class with Prosecco.
• Truffle Hunting. This is an optional extra that we couldn’t resist. Spend a morning ambling in the woods with a local truffler and his dogs and bring back truffles for dinner. We are just finding out the price but expect it to be very reasonable.
Prices for the Idler Retreat start from £929 per person, including all food, drink and classes. For more details and bookings, visit the Idler web site HERE
To learn more about hosting your retreat at Villa Pia or booking a spot on one of our arts holidays, writing retreats or other upcoming sessions, visit our RETREATS page.
