Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
Write, sketch, and paint on the Italian Riviera with teaching artist Jill Badonsky Book Now
All the sunshine, color, and flavor of the Riviera
Dates: October 14-20, 2024
Duration: 7 days / 6 nights
Start: Milan, Italy
End: Milan, Italy
Sites: Milan, Rapallo, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Carmogli and Chiavari
Cost: from $3595 USD based on double occupancy
Single Supplement: $595
Max Group Size: 14
Land only. Solo traveler roomshares available. All prices are in US dollars
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
Join us for a week on the sunny Italian Riviera. Learn with teaching artist and creativity coach Jill Badonsky to use intuitive watercolor sketching and free-spirited writing to capture your travels. After arriving in Milan, we will spend 5 nights on the seaside, discovering colorful Italian villages and towns through daily walks, art class, and free time. Not only a vacation, this art and creativity workshop is a fun, immersive experience of Italy.
Jill’s approach plugs into mindfulness, playfulness, and intuitive techniques that inspire fresh directions. Free your creative voice from perfectionistic standards. You will capture the enchantment of the Italian Riviera with a joy-filled experience of creative flow that will last the rest of your life.
Overview
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
Art Program
Arriving in the enchantment of a country you’ve always wanted to visit is a natural aphrodisiac to an amplified sense of creativity. Jill will capitalize on that energy and teach you loose and easy methods of generating sketches, adding simple watercolor painting. Additionally, we will savor and deepen the experience in effortless creative writing that captures the feel of the moment. Finally, you’ll create smartphone photographs that go beyond just snapping a scene and quickly moving on.
Daily sessions will:
- show you how to get through your fears and doubts about art on the scene
- unleash your creativity with simple suggestions
- make travel sketching easy, even for the timid
- provide writing prompts, laughter, and surprises that heighten your experience
A scavenger hunt of creative and mindful prompts will make it easier to be in the creative moment.
Each day Jill will lead her creativity workshops classes on site, in the places we visit. Participants will go away with sketchbooks and journals filled with sketched, painted, and written souvenirs they created from instruction Jill calls “Wild Abandon,” an approach for nervous beginners as well as seasoned pros wanting to loosen up. NO experience necessary.
Touring
Join an Art Walk. Equal parts art workshop and travel vacation, spend a week immersed in beautiful Italy. Your time begins with an arrival night in Milan. The next morning our creativity workshop will transfer by train to the harbor town of Rapallo, Italy on the coast of Liguria. Charming all on its own, Rapallo is perfectly situated for easy daily excursions to nearby towns. One day we will visit the fishing villages of Cinque Terre nestled into the dramatic coastline. Another day we will stroll the seaside path between Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino. Traveling by foot and by local train we will explore a new destination each day. Throughout, you will savor traditional Italian cooking with the finest regional ingredients. Experience an authentic Italy. Meet new friends. Capture it all in your very own travel sketchbook. This truly will be an art-filled travel adventure.
What You’ll Love
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
1. Planning with Care
We take care of the details. You enjoy your vacation.
2. Small group classes
With a maximum class size of 14, expect quality time during art classes. Additionally, we travel places large tour groups can’t.
3. Movable studio
Develop skills and techniques to use whenever you travel. Specifically, learn to pack light and create as you go.
4. Capture Your Experience
Your sketchbook will evolve into a personal travel journal filled with memories to last a lifetime.
Itinerary
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
Program subject to change
Day 1
Arrive at our hotel in Milan near Centrale Station. Prior to setting out, a welcome meeting gives an overview of the week. Then, we take the metro to visit the famous Piazza Duomo.
Day 2
To begin with we travel to Rapallo by train. Then, an orientation walk ends with a panoramic funivia ride. Later, enjoy an art class and our welcome meal looking over Portofino.
Day 3
Start the day sketching at the colorful farmer’s market in Rapallo. In the afternoon and into the evening we will explore the ancient fishing villages of the Cinque Terre.
Day 4
Walk the spectacular coastline between colorful Santa Margherita Ligure and famous Portofino. If you’d like, continue by ferry to the village of San Frutuosso, accessible only by boat or footpath. When you are ready, return to Rapallo by a scenic ferry ride. Later, we’ll gather for a fun food and wine tasting of local specialties.
Day 5
Begin the day with an art class in the midst of the weekly market in Chiavari. Tour colorful stalls and practice speaking a little Italian with friendly vendors. Afterwards, you’ll have time to shop, enjoy a little sand and sea at the beach, or simply take a long leisurely lunch in a sunny piazza watching the world go by.
Day 6
After breakfast a brief bus ride brings us to the heights of the Portofino Peninsula. From here we will take in the beautiful views as we walk down to the seaside town of Camogli for a final creative art class of writing and painting. Later we will gather in Rapallo for a festive aperitivo and farewell dinner.
Day 7
In the morning our small group of artist-friends will transfer by first class train back to Milan’s Central Station. From there it is time to say goodbye until our next arting adventure.
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
Create experiences to last a lifetime.
Inclusions
Art and Creativity Workshop in Italy
- Assistance of your host / guide throughout the program
- Jill Badonsky’s daily Art and Creativity Workshop
- 1 night at 4-star hotel near Milano Centrale
- 5 nights at our 4-star hotel in Rapallo’s waterfront
- All hotel taxes and service fees
- Daily full buffet breakfast
- All transport per the itinerary (start Milan Hotel and end at Milan Central Train Station)
- Metro trip to Piazza Duomo and gelato
- First-class roundtrip transfer by train between Milan and Rapallo
- Rapallo orientation walk
- Round trip funivia to the hills above Rapallo
- Welcome lunch or dinner (depending upon arrival time to Rapallo)
- Guided walks along coast from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino
- Ferry return to Rapallo from Portofino
- Cinque Terre train and park admission to visit the villages
- Guided walk from San Rocco to Camogli
- Informal wine and cheese tasting
- Visit Chiavari market
- Farewell dinner
- Optional cooking class
- Optional ferry and visit to San Fruttuoso
- Optional self-guided hikes between Cinque Terre’s famous seaside towns
Programs are subject to change.
Where in the World?
Italy has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine while remaining utterly true to its traditions. Our walking or art workshop vacation will tour Italy’s northern regions. First, our small group meets in Milan, the center of global fashion and design. Next, we explore the sunny Italian Riviera in Liguria. Finally, our vacation ends in the serene foothills of the Alps and stunning Lake Como.
Airport Information
Three international airports serve Milan: Malpensa, Linate, and Bergamo. Malpensa Airport (MXP) is the largest. It usually has the best connections for North American cities. Also, MXP is well connected to Milano Centrale Station by both train and airport busses. You may find information on how to get to Milan from the airport on our blog.
Linate Airport (LIN) is the closest airport to the city. It is located just 7km away from Milano Centrale. From LIN an airport bus can bring you directly to the station.
Bergamo Airport (BGY) is a great choice for anyone traveling on low cost, regional airlines. Specifically, Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air offer regular flights to and from Bergamo. Bergamo is also served by shuttles and public transport to Milan’s center.
Generally speaking, most will find it most convenient and cost effective to fly in and out of Malpensa Airport.
Starting and Ending Locations
The program will start at our group hotel which is located very near Milano Centrale Station. At the end of the tour, a group train transfer from Rapallo to Milano Centrale is included. We should arrive to the station by 3pm.
Important Notes
Travel Sketchbook Workshop in Italy
Solo travelers and single supplements
For our guests who are traveling solo... We offer a single supplement for an additional fee if you wish to guarantee a private room.
You may share a twin room with another trip participant of the same sex (Roomshare) if you do not request a private room. When you sign up, if no Roomshare is available, a 50% single supplement will be included on your invoice due at final payment. However, if a roommate is found before your trip departs, you will be matched and the single supplement will be removed or refunded.
A single supplement guarantees a private room. Whenever possible singles will be placed in the same room type as our double or twin rooms.
Twin / Double Rooms
Please be aware twin beds in Europe may have very little or no space between beds. Also, instead of a king or queen mattress, double beds are often adjoining twin mattresses secured together and made with double bedding.
Fitness
Walking is a part of this program. It is both a means of visiting locations and a way to immerse yourself in a place. Our scheduled walks are usually 1-2 hours long at a casual pace. We provide a general description of our walks here. It is your responsibility to know your own physical and medical condition with respect to the advisability of participating in a chosen trip. We suggest you prepare by doing at least 1 hour of walking several times per week, and a longer walk at least once per week. Ideally, include walks with elevation change and stairs. (There are always stairs.)
As with any exercise program, we recommend you consult with your physician prior to your arrival regarding the suitability of a walking tour.
Some of our guests find trekking poles helpful on steep or uneven terrain. In Europe they are quite common. Before using them on a vacation, please practice at home. We strongly advise you get comfortable using trekking poles on familiar paths first.
For additional information on these topics and more, please see our FAQ page.
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