The Program

Each day includes a session of painting, sightseeing, and discussion. The painting sessions are on the premises of the Villa and in the surrounding landscape. Students receive guided instruction that encourages self-expression through perception, with an emphasis on the history of painting and the adoption of traditional techniques to a new form of expression.

In addition, there will be a separate egg tempera course which includes a historical introduction to the origin of egg tempera and viewing of examples in museums. The course will focus on the preparation of grounds of rigid support, the application of natural egg tempera, the use of pigments (mixing and application), and applying the original method to explore using egg tempera today.

Daily trips to local historical sites and full-day trips to Rome and Tarquinia complement the coursework. Each excursion begins with an art history introduction.

Art historian Philippe Daverio, who hosts a television program on art in Italy, will discuss the social and artistic history of Italian art and introduce the history of the sites in the region.

Mario Codognato, an art critic and curator for the Museo Archeologico di Napoli, will lecture on the relationship between the history of art and the Western art world today.

There will be a visit to the studio of Alessandro Twombly, an artist and resident of Ronciglione.