Labarotta — Art Retreats in Umbria, Italy

Art & Culture

Painting in the open air, urban sketching in medieval towns, visits to galleries and frescoes that most tourists never find. Zax paints alongside you — teaching when you want it, leaving you alone when you need to be.

Nature & Hiking

The hills around Monte Santa Maria Tiberina are ancient, wild and extraordinarily beautiful. We walk through chestnut forests and along ridgelines with views to Tuscany. There is also a pool, mountain bikes, and the possibility of horse riding.

Food & Wine

Patrizia's cooking changes everything. Every meal is made from produce grown on or near the farm. Dinner is three courses at a long table where the conversation goes on longer than the food. Wine tasting, truffle hunting and cooking classes on request.

2026 Retreats

Two retreats.
Umbria.

      
      Maximum 5 guests per retreat — always intimate
    

Places available

Dolce far Niente

6–12 September 2026 · 6 nights · Meone Vecchio, Umbria

The sweetness of doing nothing. No fixed programme, no schedule, no itinerary that requires anything of you. A terrace with a view that goes on forever, Patrizia's cooking, a pool in the afternoon heat, and the particular pleasure of being somewhere that is not a to-do list.

Particularly well suited to couples — relaxed, unstructured, and beautiful together. Also ideal for solo travellers and guests with limited mobility.

€900

per person shared room
€1 050 single room

              All meals included

              Pool · Bikes · Hiking

              Max 5 guests

Reserve a place — €300 deposit → Read more

Deposit: €300 · Fully refundable until 25 June 2026 · Balance due 30 days before arrival · Pay by bank transfer, PayPal or Swish

Limited places

Art as Poetry

6–12 September 2026 · 6 nights · Meone Vecchio, Umbria

A retreat for painters and urban sketchers. Five days of painting in the open air — in olive groves, medieval piazzas, on hillside terraces with views to Tuscany. Zax paints alongside you. No experience required. You just need to be willing to look at things slowly.

Professional art supplies included. Introduction to watercolour available for complete beginners.

€950

per person shared room
€1 050 single room

              All meals + wine

              Art supplies incl.

              Max 5 guests

Reserve a place — €300 deposit → Read more

Deposit: €300 · Fully refundable until 6 August 2026 · Balance due 30 days before arrival · Pay by bank transfer, PayPal or Swish

Coming 2027

In the Footsteps of the Renaissance · Art as Poetry · Dolce far Niente · Bali

Dolce far Niente · 6–12 September 2026

The sweetness
of doing nothing

The Italians have a phrase for the particular art of doing nothing well. Dolce far niente. It sounds simple. It is surprisingly difficult to do if you have forgotten how. This retreat is an invitation to remember.

There is no fixed programme here. There is a terrace with a view that goes on forever. There is Patrizia's cooking. There is a pool when the sun is at its height. There are hills to walk if you feel like walking, and a good chair in the shade if you don't. What Dolce far Niente offers is permission.

You can do as much or as little as you like. The Umbrian hills are very patient. They have been here for a long time and they are in no hurry.

What's included

6 nights in a single or shared room at Agriturismo Meone Vecchio
All meals: Patrizia's breakfasts, picnic lunches, three-course dinners with local wine, sunset aperitivo
Pool, mountain bikes, pool and mountain bikes each morning
Optional excursions to nearby hill towns — Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, Città di Castello
Introduction to watercolour painting — bring your phone and we'll find a view worth painting
Transfer to and from Castiglion Fiorentino station on arrival and departure day
Optional extras: wine tasting, truffle hunting, cooking class

Reserve your place — €300 deposit →

Art as Poetry · 6–12 September 2026

Paint the light.
September in Umbria.

There is a particular quality of light in Umbria in September. The summer heat has softened, the landscape has turned gold and amber, and the hills — ancient, unhurried — seem to invite you to sit down and look properly for the first time in months.

This is a retreat for people who paint, or who have always wanted to. For urban sketchers who fill notebooks on lunch breaks. For watercolourists who paint on kitchen tables and dream of painting somewhere extraordinary. For anyone who looks at the world and wishes they could capture it — not perfectly, but honestly.

Over five days you will paint in the open air, in medieval hill towns, in olive groves and on terraces with views that reach all the way to Tuscany. Zax will paint alongside you, teach when you want teaching, and leave you alone when you need to be. In the evenings, Patrizia will cook.

You don't need to be a painter to come. You just need to be willing to look at things slowly.

What's included

6 nights in a single or shared room at Agriturismo Meone Vecchio
All meals: Patrizia's breakfasts, picnic lunches with Umbrian specialities, three-course dinners with local wine, sunset aperitivo
Professional-grade art supplies: artists' quality watercolour paper, paints, brushes, charcoal and sketching pads — or bring your own
Daily painting sessions with personal guidance from Zax — all levels including complete beginners
Guided excursions to painting locations: hill towns, valleys, markets and viewpoints off the tourist trail
Transfer to and from Castiglion Fiorentino station on arrival and departure day
Pool, mountain bikes, access to the surrounding hills
Optional extras: wine tasting, truffle hunting, cookery class, visits to Città di Castello and Arezzo

A typical day

Morning

Breakfast on the terrace. Coffee, bread, Patrizia's jam. Then paint — outdoors, almost always. A hillside, an olive grove, the view from the terrace.

Afternoon

An excursion most days — a nearby town, a market, a church with a fresco inside that will stop you. Or: stay at Meone, paint by the pool, sleep in the shade of an olive tree.

Evening

Aperitivo at sunset. Dinner together. Wine. Conversation that goes on longer than the food. The particular pleasure of having made something with your hands that day.

Reserve your place — €300 deposit →

Your Host

Watercolour artist — akvarell, akryl, ceramics, sculpture
Economist — MEcon, Handelshögskolan, Göteborg
Business adviser — Hedemora kommun, Främja kvinnors företagande
Founder — Interfem, feminist antiracist think tank
Singer — Opera Viva, Stockholm

The economist
who paints.

Zax is a watercolourist who has been painting the Umbrian hills for years — in solitude, in her garden, in the mountains above Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, in all weathers and in all lights. She grew up in the United Kingdom with Norwegian and Indian parents, moved to Sweden in the 1980s, and has spent much of her life since letting curiosity take her — to Asia, to Central America, across Europe, and eventually back, always, to Umbria.

Her paintings rarely aim for accuracy. She is more interested in feeling — the weight of a bird sitting in a hand, the texture of an elephant's trunk, the mood of a hillside at dusk when the light turns and the colours become impossible. She paints the same images again and again, testing colour and texture in different directions each time.

She will take you to her favourite viewpoint, introduce you to Patrizia's cooking, and make sure you leave with at least one painting you are proud of — whether you have painted before or not.

You can see her paintings — watercolours and acrylic gelli prints — at artbyzax.com.

When she isn't painting, Zax is a feminist organiser, an economist, and a bookkeeper for artists who hate admin. She leads retreats in Umbria because she believes that a week in the right place, with the right people, good food and wine, can shift something in you permanently.

The Labarotta Team

2026 retreats are hosted by Zax. Ofelia joins all retreats from 2027. Miriam joins from 2027 and in Bali.

Zax

Artist · Host · Guide

Watercolourist, economist and feminist organiser. Has painted in Asia, Europe and Central America. Spends much of the year in her garden in Umbria. Will find you the best espresso in Città di Castello.

Ofelia

Umbria Expert · Culture Guide

Grew up spending every holiday in Umbria. Now lives in Manchester. Translates subtitles for cinema and teaches Zen Buddhist martial art. Knows every restaurant within 50km and promises to take you to her favourite. Joins all Labarotta retreats from 2027.

Miriam

Writer · Performing Arts

Roots in Sweden and Gambia. Writer and performing artist who has brought art and cultural curiosity to many parts of the world. Joins Labarotta retreats from 2027 and in Bali.

Where You Will Stay

View from the terrace · Alta Valle del Tevere

Meone Vecchio

Near Monte Santa Maria Tiberina · Northern Umbria

A working farmhouse run by Tiziano, Patrizia and Filippo, whose family has farmed this land for generations. It is remote — beautifully, deliberately remote — in the hills above Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, a medieval village that has barely changed in centuries.

The views from the terrace reach across the Alta Valle del Tevere into Tuscany. Patrizia's cooking is what people talk about most when they leave — every ingredient has travelled less than a few kilometres to get there.

Five bedrooms — maximum 5 single guests or 4 couples
Swimming pool — perfect in the September heat
Patrizia's home cooking — breakfast, lunch and dinner from local produce
Mountain bikes and walking tracks from the property
10 minutes from Monte Santa Maria Tiberina · 20 minutes from Città di Castello
Remote and quiet — the only sound at night is the hills
4x4 transfer from Castiglion Fiorentino train station included

Getting Here

From Stockholm
to Umbria in a day

The recommended route from Sweden. We meet you at Castiglion Fiorentino.

Fly to Rome

Norwegian DY1781 from Stockholm Arlanda departs 07:00, arrives Rome Fiumicino 10:10. Book early for best fares.

ARN 07:00 → FCO 10:10

Leonardo Express

Take the Leonardo Express train directly from the airport to Roma Termini. Departs every 15 minutes, journey 32 minutes.

~€14 · every 15 min

Train to Castiglion

Take a direct Trenitalia train from Roma Termini to Castiglion Fiorentino. Approx. 2h 30min. Book in advance at trenitalia.com.

from €12 · book ahead

We collect you

We meet you at Castiglion Fiorentino station and drive you to Meone Vecchio — 35 minutes through beautiful Umbrian landscape.

Included in retreat price

Total journey from landing: approximately 4 hours. Guests with cars are welcome to drive — note that Meone Vecchio is remote and a 4x4 or SUV is recommended for the final track. Flights from other cities and countries welcome — contact us and we will advise on the best connections.

Booking & Terms

How to book

A €300 deposit is required to reserve your place
Pay by bank transfer, PayPal or Swish — details on request
Deposit fully refundable until 30 days before the retreat starts
From 30 days before, €120 of the deposit is refundable
Balance due 30 days before arrival
If the retreat is cancelled for any reason, all payments refunded in full

Good to know

Flights and travel insurance not included — guests arrange their own
Please tell us about any dietary requirements or allergies when booking
Guests aged 13–18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult
Retreats not open to children under 13
We do our best to accommodate guests with limited mobility
The location is remote — a 4x4 or SUV recommended for guests driving

I've painted these hills
for years. Now I want to
show them to you.

Two retreats.
Umbria.

Dolce far Niente

Art as Poetry

The sweetness
of doing nothing

What's included

Paint the light.
September in Umbria.

What's included

A typical day

The economist
who paints.

From Stockholm
to Umbria in a day

How to book

Good to know

Stay close
to Umbria

I've painted these hillsfor years. Now I want toshow them to you.

Two retreats.Umbria.

Dolce far Niente

Art as Poetry

The sweetnessof doing nothing

What's included

Paint the light.September in Umbria.

What's included

A typical day

The economistwho paints.

From Stockholmto Umbria in a day

How to book

Good to know

Stay closeto Umbria

I've painted these hills
for years. Now I want to
show them to you.

Two retreats.
Umbria.

The sweetness
of doing nothing

Paint the light.
September in Umbria.

The economist
who paints.

From Stockholm
to Umbria in a day

Stay close
to Umbria