It has been both interesting and inspiring to view the past six months here in Italy as strengthening our ties to the past as we branch out into new possibilities of artistic expression and appreciation.  The formula remains: the rustic elegance of this ancient monastery, the authentic
Umbrian cuisine, the exhilaration of creating art in this artistic paradise, the trips to the villages where the art and architecture frames the warmth of the Italian people.  At La Romita, these aspects are the foundation of the experience, but the exploration of new media and new
modes of expression coexist comfortably in this framework.  This year, we had groups recording their travels in gorgeous sketchbooks, calligraphers
seeking out ancient illuminated manuscripts…to touch…to inspire, and landscape architects traveling central Italy to see the astonishing
Renaissance and Mannerist gardens.  The feedback we get from each of our participants is channeled back into the formula to make each day, each
hill-town visit, as problem free and enjoyable as we can possibly make it. Serendipity certainly plays its part, but each bit of information we’ve gleaned from these decades helps create a fertile ground for the flowering of the best kind of art…an art that flows through these ancient arches and hovers over these sacred places and touches each heart and mind differently.  The way each of you reacts…artistically, emotionally…then touches each of us here at La Romita, but also each of the Italians you meet along the way:  the children in the park looking over your shoulder as you sketch their town, the pride in the face of the elderly gentleman as he watches you photographing his family home, the shopkeeper giddily trying out her English on a real American.

The 2013 season will be just as exciting with teachers from all over the
US (just to give you an idea, they are from San Francisco, Santa Barbara,
Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Austin, Little Rock, Richmond, Ann Arbor, and
Washington DC.), professors and professionals, each committed to making
your stay in Italy educational as well as a treat for the senses.  I will
be traveling to some of these locations this winter and we’ll let you
know the schedule.

Arrivederci presto (we’ll see each other again soon)!!! – Edmund Zimmerman, Director


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