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Il Chiostro Overview:

Il Chiostro has been presenting arts-related workshops in Italy since 1995. The directors are Linda Mironti and Michael Mele.

We began in Tuscany with workshops in Painting, Photography, Cooking and Fiction Writing. Now we have expanded to Venice, Rome, Lake Garda and Sorrento where we continue to offer the original workshops, but have added workshops in Plein Air Painting, Watercolor, Pastels, Digital Photography, Cooking, Cabaret Performance, Poetry Writing, Hiking, etc.

Our season is both Spring and Fall. In the spring (May and June) we are on a vineyard in Tuscany, just outside of Siena and about an hour south of Florence. A sampling of our spring workshops are:
Plein Air painting, Artist's Retreat, Digital Photography, Tuscan Cooking, Poetry Writing, Fiction Writing, Sculpture, Watercolor Painting, Yoga, Cabaret Performance and a few other specialized programs that are all listed on our Schedule pages.

In the Fall we start in Sorrento with painting, then we are at a tranquil monastery on the shores of Lake Garda, Italy, following that is Venice and finally back to Tuscany where we hold our year end Autumn Arts Festival at the Dievole Chianti Classico winery. At Lake Garda we offer Painting and Photography; in Venice there are week-long programs in Photography and Painting and Drawing. Then in Tuscany in October we offer Watercolor Painting, Collage, Photography and Tuscan Cuisine with daily seminars in Italian Opera Appreciation.

On our faculty are:
Spring in Tuscany:
Louise Freshman Brown-Drawing & Painting, Val Carson-Painting (Plein Air), Helen Baldassare-Cabaret Performance, Dan Lipow-Digital Photography, and Marcia Reed-Watercolor in Tuscany, Helene Pfeffer, Mary Pettis, Jack Broderick, Jean Cauthen, Jeanne Mackenzie, Karan Hagan and Hilarie Lambert all painting in Tuscany, Peter Rubino-Sculpture, Linda Mironti-Tuscan Cooking, Maureen Brady-Fiction Writing, Don Shewey and John Ballew-Exploring Sensuality for Gay Men, Fred de Vos-Wax Jewelry.

Fall:
Louise Freshman Brown-Drawing & Painting in Sorrento, Harvey Stein-Photography in Lake Garda, Brandi Reissenweber-Fiction Writing in Lake Garda, Nina Prantis-Photography, Lynn Stender-Watercolor, Sherry O'Neill-Collage and Lincoln Clark-Italian Opera, Michael Vignapiano-Tuscan Cuisine.

Please browse through our list of workshops by using the buttons at the top of this page on the left. Take a look at what our past clients have had to say about their experiences in Italy with Il Chiostro. We provide a unique, intimate and interesting view of Italy that will take you beyond the museums and hotel lobbies. We hope to meet you one day soon at an arts workshop in Tuscany, Sorrento, Lake Garda, Venice or Rome.

Linda Mironti and Michael Mele