recap! art retreat in italy, sept 2026

A day in the life at Hotel Leone, Italy

Instead of writing a day-by-day account of our week in beautiful Montelparo, I thought I'd share my memories and impressions of how a day felt in our private hilltop palazzo, Hotel Leone.

Each morning we opened our shutters onto gold. Really. That's what it felt like.

At this time of year the sun rises late, so there was no need for an early alarm to catch sunrise. The sun came up out of the sea in the distance, and the rolling hills turned gold first, then the stonework of the palazzo itself. It's one of my most vivid colour memories from the trip. Some mornings a mist hung in the valleys, soft and atmospheric, and it burnt off within the hour.

One side of the hotel looks over rolling hills of yellow fields and vineyards down to the sea, with little hilltop towns scattered everywhere. From the other, the Sibillini mountains rise range after range, blue fading to violet.

Then down to breakfast, on the terrace when the day was warm and indoors when it was cooler. A quick stop in the studio to collect our sketching gear for the day. Some mornings we hopped in the bus on an excursion to paint. Others we simply walked into Montelparo and sketched on our doorstep. The beauty of Montelparo town and the range of wonderful subjects right there was a delightful surprise: cathedrals, convents, arches, cobbled streets, old town walls complete with towers. I'm already excited to go back and capture more.

Afternoons were often at our own pace. Some of us headed back to the studio to catch up on sketches. Others took sketchbooks out to the terraces or down by the pool. The hotel is full of small subjects: terracotta pots of lemons, herbs and chillies, old doors, stone fountains, and Ranger, the hotel cat, who proved a very willing model. Plus, the grand subject of the views. Always that view.

What we painted

Across the week I planned our excursions and studio sessions to cover as much variety as possible: old buildings, market scenes, waterfalls, sweeping landscapes, vineyards. Along the way we worked on linear and aerial perspective, mixing stone colours and shadows, and choosing and simplifying a scene. It sounds like a lot in a week, and it was! I came away so inspired by everyone's sketchbooks filled with colour and memories.

We also stepped away from the paper for a guided walk through Montelparo, a pasta-making evening (best pasta I've ever eaten - obviously we're not just artists, but chefs too!), and a morning of eco printing.

The food. The food!

Lunch was long and unhurried, often at a local eatery, often with a glass of local wine. This is where we swapped stories about what we'd just seen and painted, and enjoyed all sorts of local dishes.

Dinner was an absolute treat, and we could not have been more spoilt. The dining room itself was stunning, a domed-ceilinged historic stone cellar. We sat together at one long table while Leo, our waiter, quietly kept track of everyone's needs. The wine and conversation flowed, and this is where friendships were made.

Thank yous

A big thank you to the wonderful group of 14 who joined me from across the globe. Your sketchbooks filled up fast with happy memories, you embraced everything with enthusiasm, and our WhatsApp group is still full of happy, arty chatter. I can't wait to see you again on another adventure.

And thank you to the amazing staff at Hotel Leone and our hosts Madeline and Tim. Liene, the house manager, made everything run smoothly even before we arrived and was a champion while we were there. Leo never forgot a single person's name, coffee, wine or dessert preference. The chefs cooked a four-course meal each evening. And all the fairies buzzing in the background (did I tell you how beautiful our rooms were? I know we'll be talking about that for years). I'll be back in 2028 and I can't wait.

The week rushed by. Many of us didn't want to come home!