Landscape Quilting
  in Umbria

  11 to 18 June, 2008
  $2600 per person, double occupancy
  $500 single supplement

E xplore hilltop towns and beautiful scenery while learning how to translate these landscapes into your own quilts. Our transfer picks up the maximum twelve Tactile Travellers at either Rome’s Fiumicino airport or the Attigliano train station, bound for the Lazio/Umbria border. The Castello di Santa Maria, a recently renovated15th Century castle will be our home and hearth for the week.

Nestled in orchards and olive groves, the castle was originally a convent, its chapel walls bearing frescoes from the era. It offers modern amenities (including a pool with sunset views and rose garden) yet with respect to the historical setting. Beyond the art and architecture, our base also tempts us with delicious meals. A Paul Bocuse Culinary Institute (Lyon, France) graduate supervises both the menus and preparation of morning pastries!

Award-winning quilter Annamaria Brenti shares her techniques for creating stunning pictorial quilts. Our workshop space is furnished with sewing machines, irons, and cutting mats, drawing and freezer paper. An outdoor work area keeps fabric paints, brushes and sponges for those who want to personalize their material. Each quilter will receive a fabric collection inspired by the colors and textures of central Italy. You may choose to follow the patterns prepared by Annamaria, or follow your own inspirations.

Days will be part discovery, part quilting. Using your Tactile Travels journal, you take in events, inspirations and details of the day. Photos, souvenirs―anything that catches your fancy― could become quilted memories.

Our first trip is to nearby Civita di Bagnoregio, walking the bridge to the nearly abandoned city that overlooks sculpted volcanic valleys.

Another day trip is to Viterbo. The city has traditionally had strong ties to the Vatican, reflected in beautiful palaces and churches. Its medieval neighborhoods evolved around fountains. Indeed, this area is known for its wonderful waters and mineral baths. But the fountains were social centers as well. Lively, crooked streets branch off from the piazzas that host the fountains.