Bella Botanicals: Sketching in Italy includes daily, in-depth lessons with Elizabeth, opportunities to sketch in stunning sites that are not open to the general public, a vast variety of botanical inspiration from roses to herbs to Tuscany flora, as well as exceptional side trips to medieval villages and and tucked away panoramic locations.
Open to students of all artistic levels, Bella Botanicals makes ink and wash sketching accessible to everyone. Based on the gorgeous flowers of Puscina Flowers, an organic farm in Tuscany, your art will reflect the colors of the season. Accommodations are in a unique boutique hotel nestled just outside the center of Città della Pieve. Although some painting experience is helpful, it is definitely not necessary.
Our 2023 accommodations are a boutique, luxury hotel, just steps from the historic center of the medieval village of Città della Pieve. (take a video tour below) This family-run hotel offers luxurious rooms, lovely gardens and a top-notch restaurant, plus so much more.
Boutique Hotel Vanucci: Hotel Vannucci began as a project of Vittoria Spinola, daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele II, who fled Pisa (and an arranged marriage with her elderly husband) to start a new life with her lover in Città della Pieve. Here, she and her soon-to-be new husband, Paolo, built two villas that became luxurious holiday accommodations for wealthy Romans vacationing in the countryside. In 1903 one of the villas became Hotel Vannucci, and today it maintains the elegance and refinement of its inception, with luxurious sleeping rooms, marble bathrooms and inviting gardens. A stay here is truly special, nestled just outside the medieval walls of the historic, and unspoiled, village of Città della Pieve.
