Villa Laura - house

Villa Laura - garden and swimming pool

Avignonesi Vineyard

Drying of Vin Santo Graps

Cortona Town Hall

Assisi

Programme B

Programme B
Destination:	Cortona, Tuscany
Accommodation:	Villa Laura – www.villa-laura.eu
Programme:	Painting Tuition or Cooking lessons
Dates:	9^th June and 22^nd September 2012
Price:	£2,250.00 (Standard double) £2,350 (Deluxe double) + £200 single person supplement. Includes 7 nights’ accommodation, excursions and wine tasting and transfers from Rome. Wine, soft drinks and coffee are included with all meals provided by are included with all meals provided by us. Non-participating partners welcome (10% discount). Charge of £50 for painting guests wanting to participate in cooking lesson

Villa Laura was bought in 2006 and has been very beautifully restored. Villa Laura is the villa used in the filming of “Under the Tuscan Sun”. The Villa is a 15 minute walk to the town of Cortona. It is situated in wonderful gardens full of roses and lavender with several water features including an ancient cistern surrounded by columns and flowers. Fruit and vegetables are sourced from their own plot. There are many beautiful places to sit and paint in the 8 acres that surround the property. There is a travertine lined swimming pool and an outside hot tub. All rooms have onsuite bathrooms and have been restored to a high quality using local stone, travertine and marble. The main villa has 5 bedrooms and the adjacent farmhouse has 5 bedrooms. There are several rooms in which to relax, two well equipped kitchens, two large dining areas, outside dining areas, a limonaea, a snooker room and a private chapel. A chef will provide the lunches and dinners and rooms will be cleaned every morning. There will be a tour of a Tuscan vineyard including lunch and an excursion to Sienna including dinner. Guests not wanting to do either painting or cooking tuition will find lots of things to do in the Villa itself and also in the town of Cortona. Cortona has a very famous museum with Etruscan artefacts.

Saturday

Pick-up from Rome airport. Time to be decided.
Some guests will arrive by their own means (not included in the price).
18.30: Welcome drink and introduction to the week.
19.30: Dinner in the Villa.

Sunday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
09.30: Drawing and Painting with the tutor.
10.30: Cooking lesson commences.
13.00: Lunch served in the Villa.
Continue painting, visit Cortona or relax around the Villa.
19.30: Depart for dinner in Hotel Locanda del Molino.
22.00: Return to the Villa.

Monday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
09.30: Drawing and Painting with the tutor.
11.00: Depart for wine tasting and lunch in Fattoria Le Capezzine, Montepulciano. This vineyard is famous for its production of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG.
15.00: Return to the Villa.
16.30: Cooking lesson commences.
20.00: Dinner in Villa.

Tuesday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served 10.00: Depart to paint and draw in Le Celle. St. Francis of Assisi came to Cortona in 1211 and founded this Hermitage. The “cells” were built out of holes in the rock. Today this is a beautiful monastery with comfortable facilities for the monks surrounded by breathtaking landscape and a dramatic waterfall cascading over huge boulders. You can still see St. Francis’ cell that was kept untouched after his death. This is a very special place to spend time walking and offers lots of painting opportunities. Picnic lunch provided.
10.30: Cooking lessons commence. Cookers and non painting guests will take lunch to Le Celle to join the painters for a picnic lunch in this very beautiful place. After lunch return to the Villa.The rest of the day is free to continue painting, explore the town or relax around the swimming pool.
17.00: Cooking lesson commences. Tonight the cookers will be preparing Pizzas for the other guests. They will be cooked in Villa Laura’s own pizza oven.
19.30: Dinner in Villa.

Wednesday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
09.30: Drawing and Painting with the tutor. Guests free to have lunch in the town or prepare something in the Villa.
14.30: Depart for excursion to Assisi.
Visit The Basilica di San Francesco. The upper church contains a sequence of 28 frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis by Giotto (and possibly Pietro Cavallini). The lower church walls are also covered by frescoes by Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzette and Cimabue. The crypt contains St. Francis’ tomb and those of four of his companions. The crypt was rediscovered in
1818. The coffin had been hidden in the 15^th century for fear of desecration. We will also visit Santa Maria degli Angeli (5 km from Assisi). St. Francis died in its Cappella del Transito.
19.30: Dinner in Assisi in a restaurant overlooking the Basilica.
22.00: Return to the Hotel.

Thursday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
09.30: Drawing and painting with the tutor.
10.30: Cooking lesson commences.
13.00: Lunch in the Villa.
This evening is free for guests to either prepare something in the Villa or go to a restaurant of their choice in the area.

Friday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
09.30: Drawing and painting with the tutor.Lunch is not included leaving guests free to make their own plans, pack or just relax around the Villa.
19.30: Farewell drink and presentation of the week’s work.
20.00: Dinner in the Villa.

Saturday

08.00 – 09.00: Buffet breakfast is served
Guests depart for Rome airport – time to be decided

Il Convento delle Celle