If you are looking for a wonderful site for your painting group, art study trip, or workshop, we would like to welcome you. For more than 20 years we have been providing artists with the ideal combination of seclusion and community in a setting of breathtaking beauty in Italy, where they can live, work, and learn, close to great masterpieces of Western art and architecture.
Our living and working situation is perfect for an artist. It offers magnificent surroundings, gorgeous light, quiet, privacy, wonderful food, and of course, Italy’s rich cultural heritage. Montecastello, an unspoiled medieval jewel in Umbria, is a safe and friendly town, and a perfect place for artists to concentrate on their work. It is not a tourist town, and the people in the community are very sympathetic towards painters and students. Here, one truly experience Italian life in a beautiful hill town in central Italy.
In this supportive studio setting, artists and students can focus and concentrate on their work, uninterrupted by the demands of daily life back home, and make dramatic progress. Many have written to say that they learned more in six weeks at the school than in an entire semester of university.
With our stunning location halfway between Rome and Florence, our infrastructure, expertise, and our warm, supportive staff, you can be sure your group will have the experience of a lifetime. Please call or write to us for more information and quotes.
The main school building, a former convent, has nine single rooms with a view of the Tiber River valley. The building also includes the dining room, our extensive library, video collection, sculpture and faculty studios, terrace, laundry, and kitchen. There is 24-hour access to a telephone, Wi-Fi, and computers with Internet; studio and classroom spaces include easels, tables, and art materials and experienced models are also available. Throughout the ancient town and out in the landscape are amazing motifs and views to draw and paint.
Students also share modest apartments, all a short walk from the school buildings. We provide three delicious Umbrian meals each day, housecleaning and linen services, and ground transportation from and to Fiumicino airport in Rome. We are happy to arrange other trips by chartered bus to nearby cities of art. Our staff is present to handle any student's needs, including medical and emergencies.
Meals are prepared in our professional kitchen. The food is simple and wholesome, with fresh produce from nearby farms, and prepared with care by our local cooks. A typical lunch includes pasta, a meat dish, two vegetables and a legume, salad, fresh bread, mineral water, fruit and coffee. As is traditional in Italian cuisine, dinner is lighter and satisfying, with a hot main course and plenty of vegetables and fruit, with soups and pasta. Evening meals in the summer are on the school’s rooftop terrace, overlooking the magnificent panorama of the Tiber River valley.
Let us help you design your workshop in Italy. For more information, please contact Marc at:
Email:![]() School of the Art Institute of Chicago with Dan Gustin June 17 - July 6 |
![]() David Voros and Pam Bowers University of South Carolina July 6 - 27 |
![]() New Hampshire Institute of Art and the Boston Figurative Art Center Jim Burke - Gary Kelley - Illustration July 27 - August 10 |
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![]() Elise Schweitzer Workshop June 1-15 |
![]() Jody Joseph Art Workshops May 11 - June 1 |
![]() Jaime Howard Plein air Painting Workshop June 1—7 |
Charlotte Wharton Painting Workshop and Artist Retreat June 1 - 8 |
While we are a small school, we are always looking for talented artists who are able to share their knowledge with students. Opportunities vary, from a position as an instructor, to visiting artist, to residencies with light teaching duties. We'd love to hear from you!