The Location
The house, called Siliano Alto, stands solid and square on its own small hill ringed with trees; olives, walnuts, and stately pines. Behind it a verdant wood, and all around golden, rolling fields and distant mountains.
It is an honest country house, the arched loggia being its only real extravagance. The old red bricks saturated with years of sunshine glow rosy in the twilight and swallows dip in and out of the cantinas. It is in the heart of a magnificent 1,500 acre hunting estate, midway between Florence and Rome on the borders of Tuscany and Umbria. It is from here that we run our painting holidays.
The estate, called "Le Coste" (meaning the border) is a hillside paradise for nature and peace. This wonderful setting gives you a rare opportunity to explore a stunning wooded and pastoral landscape, home to a wide variety of birds and animals including deer, porcupine and, more than the occasional, wild boar. White roads and tracks criss-cross this ancient estate giving you the chance to walk or cycle and breath the air of a natural reserve, surrounded by beautiful hundred-year-old pines, cypress trees and extraordinary views across the valleys of Tuscany and Umbria.
If that isn’t tempting enough there are also 3 beautiful swimming pools and 2 tennis courts to help you relax after a hard day at the easels. Wander through a hillside olive grove, walk between the shadows cast by majestic umbrella pines and cypress trees or simply be inspired by the landscape. Enjoy a glass of cold Prosecco or the sublime Brunello di Montalcino on one of our terraces whilst watching the sun set over the beautiful Tuscan town of Chiusi and the distant Montepulciano. In this environment you will paint and draw under the same mellow light that inspired the great Renaissance artists.
After years of visiting Italy and running art trips, I chose this area to make my home because of its unique location midway between Florence, Siena and Rome. If you look on the map you will see that Chiusi, our local town is about an hour's easy drive from most of the ‘treasures’ of Tuscany and Umbria.
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