What you need to know about this trip.

This is a small family-run farm on the slopes of the Chianti hills with views over the Arno valley. It is 5 km. from the nearest train station of Montevarchi (on the Florence-Arezzo line) and 10km. from the nearest Motorway exit N.25 (Valdarno, two exits south of Firenze Sud). It is therefore easy to reach by car or by train, while being located in lovely countryside and enjoying panoramic views. The nearest airports are those of Florence and Pisa.

This is not for people who are looking for elegance. Hens and ducks peck around the house, the family dog lies on the doorstep, and you may find the cat curled up in your chair. It is first and foremost a riding-centre: the stables are immediately behind the house, and horses graze in the surrounding paddocks. No one has to dress up on any occasion. Non-riders are welcome, of course, but they must not be shocked at the occasional whiff of manure! The house itself is clean and pretty, but it is after all a family home, with books spilling out of the shelves and jackets hanging on the back of chairs.

But this is what appeals to a certain kind of client. In fact, they hardly feel like clients, more like honored guests, and many come back time and time again. Jenny and her son Nicholas are happy to welcome country-lovers to their home and guests quickly become friends. The place is suitable also for single people, who will here feel looked after and cherished. At meal-times the guests all sit together at a long table and there is plenty of merriment as well as good food.

The Tuscan cooking, is, of course, a great attraction. Pietro the cook has a large repertoire of pasta, rice and meat dishes and typical Italian sweets will be made by Sergio, Pietro's son . Vegetarians are well catered for. Most of the vegetables come from Pietro’s own garden, the olives for the oil are picked on the premises and eggs, turkeys and ducks are all home produced.

Jenny is 65, but doesn’t feel it nor, she hopes, look it. She has an Oxford degree and has spent some years teaching at the University of Florence. She set up the riding centre because she wanted to transmit to others her love of horses and the Tuscan countryside. She is knowledgeable about the local history and architecture as well as the flora and fauna.

Pietro has been the cook for many years. He was originally a farmer, and together Jenny and he have written his life-story, which reveals the hardships, but also the joys of farming between the thirties and the sixties. Originally published in Italian, the English version (Pietro’s Book) was published by Constable in 2003 and the American edition, published by Arcade Publishing, came out in 2004. It's Pietro’s answer to “Under the Tuscan Sun”! His recipe book will be available soon.

Nicholas is Jenny’s twenty-eight-year-old son. He took a degree in Sociology in York, England, and is now sub-editor of an ecology magazine, "Terra Nuova". He spends a lot of his free time at the farm and delights the clients with his charm and intelligence, as well as his piano-playing (as you can guess, his mother is writing this!).

Sergio is Pietro’s son, a gentle giant of a man who can turn his hand to anything: shoeing the horses, building a wall, putting in a bathroom, painting a room, looking after the garden, you name it. He is helped by his son Marco, a keen apprentice, who also gives Pietro a hand in the kitchen.

We were extremely happy to welcome back Eraldo, after his ten years' sojourn in England. He is an experienced instructor and guide, a keen fisherman and musician – and a great talker! Adolfo, who works in the stables, is an able musician too and is also my computer consultant.

We deliberately do not put visits to Florence, Siena or any of the art cities on our program, as tourists can explore them by themselves. We prefer to offer them “Toscana minore”, places and experiences which they would have difficulty in finding on their own, places which do not attract mass tourism and are all the more fascinating for that reason.

Art Courses

They will include drawing and sketching, watercolor painting, and ceramics. The courses will be one week in duration with morning and afternoon sessions of three hours with a mid-point tea break. Pietro will prepare a delicious lunch and an evening meal to nourish the artists.

These courses will be led by Lisa Smith, a Canadian artist, who has come to join the team. Lisa is an award-winning artist with experience in teaching and a long history as a model maker for film, television and theatre. Her art training includes L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the Ontario College of Art, McGill University, JFK University in California, the University of Toronto, and Georgian College of Art and Design, as well as a painting year in Florence with a Greenshields bursary. She speaks Italian and French as well as her native English. Lisa is a lover of travel and the great outdoors, and is thrilled to be beginning this new adventure here in beautiful Toscana.

The watercolor painting course will involve lessons in basic technique, with an emphasis on light and spontaneity. Elements of still life as well as landscape painting will be considered. Open air painting sessions, with excursions to local sights, will be included in the week's activities. As this is a riding centre, there will be an afternoon optional ride for those interested in a variation from the artistic program. A visit to Florence by train, to gather inspiration from the abundance of museums and artworks there, will be included in the week's adventures.

This course is suitable for painters of all levels, whether they are beginning to awaken untapped talents, or painters with experience, who wish to enjoy the Tuscan landscape and enrich their spirits with the artistic heritage that Italy provides. Materials for this course will be provided.

The ceramics course will introduce techniques of wedging and preparation of clay for hand- building, slab pots and coil pots, as well as sculptural pieces. Methods of centering and throwing on the wheel will also give students a wide range of experiences with clay and its possibilities. We shall have lots of fun creating with this fabulous material in the new outdoor shaded studio space. This course would be suitable for those who have always wanted to experiment with three- dimensional work, and enjoy getting a bit messy at times. Work aprons are advised. Materials will be provided and information on arrangements for shipping home masterpieces will be available.

The drawing course will present traditional techniques of drawing, with lessons in form, light and shade. Basic structure, perspective and composition will be developed as the artists draw from the beautiful scenes we shall visit in the area. Rendering of elements from nature, still life, buildings, foreground and background and some basic anatomy will be explained. Various media such as charcoal, conte, pencil and pastel will be available.