OVERVIEW

After a very successful and popular PAINTING & PRINTMAKING course in 2024, we are excited to announce another one for 2025! A collaboration with another fellow artist based here in Italy, Australian-born Megan Hunter, who is a talented printmaker and teacher who will be working alongside Julian to offer you the chance to leave with a beautiful and personal etching of your own in a week, while staying at a stunning and historic villa, beside the beautiful medieval Umbrian hilltop town, Panicale.

The rather unique course has been designed carefully with each day having specific tasks - starting with our research on day one touring local hilltop towns and countryside of this beautiful area of the Umbrian/Tuscan borders, photographing or drawing to give each of us something personal to work with. The following day we will be working our sketches into designs and preparing either our painting or an etching plate. After that, this will be a daily workshop, all of us working together, and dividing our time between studio time, art and cultural visits, lunches, trips to local towns, aperitivi and dinners out, or simply relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Italian Renaissance gardens of our Villa. We will set up the studio in the expansive and historic cantinas of our Villa for the week.  

Each guest will complete their own personal piece of work; sourced, drawn, painted or etched and printed by hand during the week, and ready to take back home.

This is a general outline of the week (subject to change, weather permitting etc.)
Day 1 - Arrivals, aperitivo at the Villa, orientation and introductions - dinner together at the Villa.
Day 2 - Half the group goes touring the local area with Julian, looking for ideas and images - while the other half work with Megan, going through the process and preparing the etching plates. After lunch at the villa we swap round for the afternoon. The evening features an evening stroll up to the local town of Panicale for an aperitivo together and dinner in town.
Day 3 - The morning and afternoon will be spent working at the studio on our sketches/photos to create your personal design. Dinner will be taken together at the Villa
Day 4 - This si the day we transfer the images and begin marking the plates. We will also have time for an afternoon visit to Lake Trasimeno - with an Apericena and wine-tasting by a local sommelier together.
Day 5 - This is the day we begin etching the plates and removing the ground. ... Lunch will be at the villa and after a long day’s work, we will have a Pizza dinner in a local Tuscan town - Chiusi
Day 6 - Finishing off by inking the plates and printing our final images. Lunch at the villa - an afternoon to perfect our prints, followed by a celebratory final dinner at the Villa.
Day 7 - After breakfast we will go through the images, present a final critique for everyone to feel they have understood the process and have an idea of what they might like to do as a next step on their individual artist’s journeys. Followed by check-out.

ACCOMMODATION

Our Villa, located in a small hamlet just on the outskirts of the picturesque Umbrian village of Panicale, is called LeMura and it offers sweeping views across the hills and Lake Trasimeno. The property contains various common spaces, a large entrance hall, several salotti (salon rooms), a limonaia which is now an ample sunroom with exterior kitchen, an outdoor terrace on the first floor, spacious gardens and park, a private chapel, olive grove and, of course, a swimming pool hidden amongst the olives.

Designed and decorated in the ecelctic Empire Style, the exterior boasts its warm, glowing hues of apricot and melon and the interior invites you in with a mix of international antiques, playful pastel colour schemes and original frescoes. The villa is filled with interesting vignettes, corner scenes and contemplative vistas wherever you look.

From a noble country home worn away and forgotten in time to the careful and loving restoration a few hundreds of years later, Villa LeMura shares its story with each visitor and guest who walks through her doors. Originally the summer residence for a noble family from Perugia, Villa LeMura started out in 1690 as a working farm and over the years was gradually transformed into the stunning villa you can still experience today with many of its original features painstakingly restored.

The surrounding land was used mainly for tobacco, silk , wine and grain and in the tower of the villa it is still possible to see where the tobacco was dried and where the silk worms hatched. The interior frescoes were painted by Mariano Piervittori who worked on many of the historic buildings all over Umbria and also on the most important residences in Perugia. The current owner discovered this forgotten gem in sad repair 20 years ago and set out to bring it back to its former glory, transforming it back to a place of beauty and comfort, somewhere to experience Italy at its finest.

CUISINE

The food is simple, delicious and Italian, using fresh ingredients from the local markets and prepared by the onsite chef in the hotel’s restaurant. We will enjoy the tastes of locals wines, as well as the seasonal bounty of local produce. We will be enjoying our meals in several locations throughout the week. Breakfast is provided at the villa each morning and our dinners and lunches will be split at various restaurants in town as well as out on our daytrips. There are a few occasions during the week where guests are free to explore on their own.

SURROUNDING AREA

Guests will not only enjoy the house and encompassing estate, but also the richness of the Italian cities in nearby regions. Day trips will allow students to add arts, culture, adventure, and natural beauty to their retreat experience. Trips include visits to see smaller villages that few tourists get to enjoy, and get a true education and taste of Italy with stops at some of our favourite cafes and "trattorias".

ART

All our courses are carefully designed for complete beginners with no previous experience as well as intermediate artists who would like to improve their skills/techniques, and, of course, practicing artists looking for a new challenge. This etching course is no different, and we are excited to be able to offer you this chance to extend your artistic repertoire.

JULIAN HYZLER

Julian, the main host and instructor, has 30 years of experience teaching students of all ages and abilities, and always strives to create a friendly and relaxed studio atmosphere. Read more about his story on the ABOUT page. These unique courses also reflect the culture and history of the area and are interwoven with art-history excursions, providing inspiration, variety and interest throughout the week. Above all, this is a real opportunity for developing artists to work in a small group alongside two experienced teachers.

MEGAN HUNTER

Megan Hunter is a printmaker and artist with over 20 years experience in practising and teaching printmaking. She has a Fine Arts degree from Monash University and Master of Teaching from Deakin University, Australia and studied at Il Bisonte in Florence. She has been the Manager of the Firestation Print Studio in Melbourne and has been teaching printmaking techniques for over seventeen years. She has  exhibited both in Australia and Europe and her work. She is passionate about drawing and printmaking and loves sharing her passion with her students.

DETAILS / PRICING

• 7 days / 6 nights

• Inclusive Retreat Price £2395/pp for UPGRADED SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY
  £150 discount per person for shared room (only 2 rooms / 4 spaces available for this option)

• Deposit to hold space = £600

• Max # Guests = 12
  * Final balance due 4 weeks before retreat start date.
  Read full cancellation policy in our Terms & Conditions.
  

INCLUDED*:

Accommodation
Daily breakfast
Use of villa site
Selected lunches and dinners
Wine during provided meals
Transfers from Chiusi railway station to the villa
Transportation to/from day trips
Daily on-site art classes
Daily print-making classes and supplies
Guided tours of area
Various trips to regional towns
Private olive oil tasting
Wine tasting apericena
Use of art supplies
Tips & taxes

* airfare not included, selected meals during day-trips not included

LOCATION:

Countryside on border of Tuscany and Umbria
Nearest town: Panicale, Umbria
Nearest major airports: Fiumicino Airport (FCO - Rome), Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA - Pisa)
Nearest local airports: Sant'Egidio Airport (PEG - Perugia), Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport (FLR - Florence)
Nearest train station: Chiusi-Chianciano Terme
Complimentary transfers will be available from Chiusi station between 2:00-5:00pm on arrival day, and one transfer will be offered on departure day at 10:30 am from villa to station. For guests arriving or departing outside of these times, taxis are available. Single and group airport transfers are possible and pricing discussed upon request. Train transfer from all airports is quite easy, and we will help guide you on the directions.

SUGGESTED PACKING:

Besides the basic packing and travel needs, here are a few things to think about bringing with you.
ART SUPPLIES ARE PROVIDED but feel free to bring any personal supplies you prefer
Comfortable shoes
Plug adaptors / converters (standard EU plug)
Hat, Journal, Sunscreen