Beginning in 2025, during certain ‘course weeks’, we will be coordinating room availability at Casale di Clio with a selection of teachers/tutors who will be providing courses aligned with our interests and ethos. We will not be directly providing the courses (teaching) ourselves, but during these ‘course weeks‘ we will give priority in accepting bookings for our rooms to those guests who book to attend these courses (i.e., guests will separately pay us for staying at Casale di Clio, and pay the course providers for their course). The course list – and booking process – for these courses follow below.
In addition to traditionally-taught courses, we would like to promote the enjoyment of suitable online courses at Casale di Clio, which when accessed here amount to a special ‘hybrid-retreat‘ experience, since as well as benefiting from the online courses, guests will also enjoy all of the associated benefits of residence here on retreat! For interactive/participatory courses (e.g., Arvon Online Writing Weeks), we will signpost ‘Course Weeks’ here – other non-participatory online courses might be enjoyed here at any time.
Scroll down then, for:
- Traditionally Taught Course Weeks;
- ‘Hybrid Retreats‘, such as Arvon Online Writing Weeks;
- Other online course/learning suggestions – to be enjoyed here at any time.
See below for 2025 Pen & Ink Drawing Classes at Casale di Clio
1. Traditionally Taught Courses
We anticipate scheduling up to half a dozen ‘course weeks’ in 2025, coordinated with offerings in various topics – details will be placed here in due course. We anticipate that the first offerings will include Pen and Ink Drawing (details to be announced soon), and, we hope, Permaculture/Sustainable Land Use and Ecology & Writing/Art. Watch this space!
Here is the current list of course weeks – make sure you visit this page regularly to stay up to date with the schedule! Arvon Online Writing Weeks are set out below.
Traditionally Taught ‘Course Week’ List
(For ‘Hybrid-Retreat’ Course Weeks – i.e., coordinated with online courses – see below)
| Course Title & Provider | COURSE WEEK Accommodation Dates (minimum) to Book at Casale di Clio (NB: Teaching is usually Mon-Fri of the Course Week) | COURSE Price (accommodation at Casale di Clio is not included in the course price, and must be booked separately – see below) | Link/Contact for Course Information |
| Pen and Ink Drawing for Beginners – Deenagh Miller | May 10th – 17th 2025 | €195 | https://www.deenaghmiller.co.uk/contact |
| Pen and Ink Drawing for Beginners – Deenagh Miller | & September 2025 – dates TBC | €195 | https://www.deenaghmiller.co.uk/contact |
Booking Process for Traditional ‘Course Weeks’
There are separate booking/payment processes for courses and for accommodation at Casale di Clio; for a smooth and successful experience we suggest the following:
- Check with either us (contact us at Casale di Clio) or the course provider (see details on our ‘Course Week’ list, above) that there is both a place on the course and a room available here – we will coordinate between ourselves to keep updated on our websites regarding availability, but it is best to check via a formal contact;
- If there is availability, tell us at Casale di Clio of your interest (via our booking form) and we will hold a room vacant for you for 48 hours so that you can then book a place on the course;
- Confirm with us that you have booked a place on the course AND book a room here within the 48 hours (rooms here during Course Weeks are prioritised for those with places booked on the course);
- Remember, this process only applies to scheduled ‘course weeks’ at Casale di Clio – otherwise, our usual booking process applies.
NB: we may make our rooms at Casale di Clio generally available for a Course Week (i.e., without the need to have booked a place on a concurrent course) if we are within 30 days of the start of the Course Week.
Any questions? If so, get in touch using our general contact form.
2. ‘Hybrid Retreats’: Online Courses/Learning while in Residence at Casale di Clio!
In 2025 we will be promoting a new type of experience: ‘hybrid retreat’ course weeks. As the name suggests, these will marry your participation in high-quality courses taught online (that you will have purchased separately) with a week’s residence at Casale di Clio, in the company of fellow retreat participants.
The benefits of this hybrid-retreat experience include:
- being distanced from the usual domestic/home distractions, which might otherwise threaten to interfere with the enjoyment of the online course;
- residing in the inspirational Casale di Clio environment, with your own study-bedroom, the library, the Art Barn, terrace, balcony, garden, hikes and walks – including to the local bar/trattoria!;
- enjoying views of the outstanding natural beauty of the Lima Valley in Northern Tuscany
- being inspired by the local cultural history, including the 1818 residences of the Romantic Poets/Writers Mary and Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron, in nearby Bagni di Lucca;
- enjoying river-swimming/the public swimming pool in Summer – and the local thermal baths year-round;
- enjoying the company of fellow residents at Casale di Clio – maybe enrolled on the same online course as you if you coordinate your stay here with one of the Arvon Online Writing Weeks that we are promoting – cooking together and socialising much in the same way as at a residential course week in the UK (albeit enjoying Italian, rather than British, weather, culture and food)!
There are a great many online learning opportunities currently available in various disciplines. The three providers that we have initially identified as suitable to enjoy here are:
- Arvon Online Writing Weeks;
- BBC Maestro courses;
- MasterClass courses.
We introduce each of these below.
Of course, there is no reason why you cannot access other online courses that you have subscribed to while here on an unstructured retreat, i.e., not attending a ‘course week’ – we only ask that you do so in a way that does not disturb other guests that might be staying here (and/or the hosts/neighbours!). This might just entail bringing effective headphones for your laptop/tablet/smartphone (and respecting Casale di Clio ‘quiet hours‘), though please contact us to discuss your plans if this appeals to you.
Arvon Online Writing Weeks – in Italy!
The Arvon Foundation is an internationally-renowned organisation that curates writing courses in a wide range of genres – and has done so for many years; they have a winning formula. One of your hosts (Adrian) can testify to the excellence of their courses, having attended three of them over the years. As well as residential retreats in the UK they now offer online Writing Week courses, under the banner ‘Arvon at Home‘.
But why not enjoy an Arvon Online Writing Week course while resident at Casale di Clio, rather than logging on to the course at home?
Although the Arvon online course runs from Monday to Friday, we schedule Course Weeks here at Casale di Clio from Saturday to Saturday, leaving arrival day and Sunday for settling-in and exploring the area, departing on the following Saturday (unless the option of extending the stay at the start and/or end of the week is taken).
| Course Title | COURSE WEEK Accommodation Dates (7 nights minimum) to Book at Casale di Clio (NB: Teaching is usually Mon-Fri of the Course Week) | Arvon COURSE Price (accommodation at Casale di Clio is not included in this, and must be booked separately) | Link/Contact for Course Information |
| Foraging for Inspiration (Fiction/Non-Fiction) | April 5th-12th 2025 | £450 (concessionary price may be available) | https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/online-writing-week-fiction-non-fiction-4/ |
| Historical Fiction: Scene, structure and voice | May 3rd-10th 2025 | £450 (concessionary price may be available) | https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/online-writing-week-historical-fiction-2/ |
NB – You do NOT need to be booked on the Arvon online course to come and stay during these weeks – but be aware that there may be guests here who are booked on the course; although we ask guests to bring their own headphones, it is possible that you might hear them talking as they interact on the course at certain times, despite our thick walls!
We are really excited at the potential of this type of hybrid retreat to provide a unique creative holiday experience for Casale di Clio guests! As a first step in exploring this potential we are scheduling a small number of Hybrid Retreat Course Weeks in early 2025, to coincide with Arvon’s Online Writing Weeks.
Once further Arvon Online Writing Week courses are announced by Arvon for Spring-Autumn 2025 we will consider scheduling some more ‘Course Weeks’ here; if you would like to suggest we set aside a hybrid retreat week in order for you to enjoy a particular online course here then do get in touch with us and we will give it our consideration (we would then expect you to book a place on the course and secure a room here before designating the week as a ‘course week’ at Casale di Clio).
3. Other online course/learning suggestions
Here are some ideas for online course/learning content that you might like to enjoy while staying here at Casale di Clio – bringing headphones so as not to disturb other guests here.
BBC Maestro Online Courses
BBC Maestro masterclasses/courses are very reasonably priced non-interactive online-delivered content covering a range of topics, including many that are suitable for guests to enjoy during unstructured retreats at Casale di Clio (i.e., not needing to be scheduled in ‘course weeks’), such as:
- creative writing & storytelling
- non-fiction writing
- art
- photography
- film making
- cookery/baking
- wellness & self-help
- business
Certain other course topics – such as Sing Like the Stars, Public Speaking and Communication, or Music Production – might not fit so well in unstructured retreat time here, due to the potential for noise disturbance to other guests arising from course participation required/encouraged by the content. If you are in any doubt about the suitability of a course to enjoy here, please do get in touch to discuss it with us – we will try to work something out if at all we can!
If you have a subscription to BBC Maestro and want to access and enjoy your course here – bringing headphones along so as not to disturb other guests – get in touch via our booking enquiry form.
MasterClass Online Courses
MasterClass online courses cover perhaps a wider range of subject matter BBC Maestro, and have different subscription options. Upskillwise have put together a useful comparison between the two products (and they also review other alternatives). The key thing is to enjoy the content in a way that does not disturb fellow guests/the hosts, in particular by bringing effective headphones!
As for BBC Maestro, some course content might not fit so well in unstructured retreat time here, due to the potential for noise disturbance to other guests arising from course participation required/encouraged by the content. If you are in any doubt about the suitability of a course to enjoy here, please do get in touch to discuss it with us – we will try to work something out if at all we can!
Other Online Learning Content Providers
There are plenty of other online course providers out there whose courses/content might be enjoyed during a stay at Casale di Clio – Upskillwise is a good resource for seeking these out.
For any online (or offline) content, the key thing is to enjoy the content in a way that does not disturb fellow guests/the hosts, in particular by bringing effective headphones!
As for the main providers mentioned above, some course content might not fit so well in unstructured retreat time here, due to the potential for noise disturbance to other guests arising from course participation required/encouraged by the content. If you are in any doubt about the suitability of a course to enjoy here, please do get in touch to discuss it with us – we will try to work something out if at all we can!