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“Dolce Far Niente: The Sweetness of Doing Nothing” in Tuscany – SOLD OUT
Marie Fratoni
June 14, 2025 - June 21, 2025
$3450We will contact you in the event of a cancellation.
The Joy of Relaxation in a Tuscan Villa
“Dolce far niente,” an Italian phrase that translates to “the sweetness of doing nothing,” is a beautiful concept that celebrates the restorative joy of relaxation and the simple art of savoring life. And, in what better place to relish this experience than in beautiful Tuscany. What could be better?
Imagine waking up in a beautiful private, yet intimate and elegant spot which is a historic nobleman’s villa in the beautiful Val d’Orcia area of Tuscany, just south of Siena. You literally can smell the coffee and cappuccino, and begin the day with a beautiful breakfast and a facilitated conversation to set the stage for the rest of the day. It’s near Montalcino, well-known for Brunello wine. Our tiny town of San Giovanni d’Asso is actually the truffle capital of Italy!
“Dolce far niente” encourages you to be fully present in the moment, enjoying the simple pleasure of doing nothing.
It’s about appreciating the here and now without the need to be constantly productive, much like being on the hamster wheel. In stillness and with mindfulness new possibilities for life arise. Taking time to do nothing isn’t laziness; rather, it’s a necessary break and a pause that allows your mind to recharge, sparking creativity and reducing stress.
The phrase reminds us that happiness often comes from the simplest things, like enjoying a sunny afternoon, strolling through a garden, savoring a cup of coffee a glass of fine wine, or spending time in conversation with like-minded friends.
“Dolce far niente” shifts the focus from accumulating achievements or material possessions to valuing the quality of your experiences. And during our week we will have activities and excursions specifically curated to give you the grace and space to experience life in a new light. All of this takes place during our daily adventures in this incredibly beautiful area of Italy.
Join us for an unhurried week of beauty, inspiration, relaxation, and wonder. Allow yourself to fully receive all that this week has to offer. Step away from busy-ness, and gain a new relationship to “being”, and then marvel at what transpires. “Dolce far niente” is a gentle reminder that life’s true sweetness often lies in its quieter moments. It’s a call to embrace relaxation, find joy in simplicity, and live with a sense of balance and appreciation.
Meals and our “Home”
In beautiful San Giovanni d’Asso, a thousand-year-old village near Siena, we’ll live in an authentic country farmhouse with gardens, fruit trees and a swimming pool.
Dinners are prepared by our personal chef using local and seasonal ingredients to make every meal a feast! We’ll eat together in the dining room each evening. Breakfast is served buffet-style.
Il Chiostro was a wonderful slice of time out of time in Tuscany. Lee Ali, 2019
Additional Activities: Our daily “relaxation” will be combined with other adventures selected from:
- Day trip to nearby Renaissance town of Pienza
- Morning in Montalcino, home to the famous Brunello red wine
- Pizza-making with Andrea in ancient pizza oven
- Visit to family winery Sasso di Sole for winery tour and tasting
- Truffle dinner in local trattoria
- Option for truffle hunting with Paolo and his dogs
- Walk through local botanical gardens, Bosco della Ragnaia
- Day trip to Cortona or Siena
- Discussions of Tuscan cuisine with our chef
After excursions, we’ll return to relax in our authentic villa, imagining the way life was 100 years ago. We’ll enjoy the surroundings, have a glass of wine, take a dip in the pool and share after the day’s rich experiences. Then we will move to the dining room to enjoy our local chef’s authentic, homemade Tuscan meal, recapping the day’s adventure with good company.
Price: $3,450 p/p
Supplement: $485 for single room, limited availability
$500 deposit due upon registration. Balance due by April 15.
Includes:
- Shared double room in Tuscan villa
- Daily traditional breakfast and dinner, including wine
- Daily sessions with Marie
- Excursions to Montalcino and Pienza
- Special local truffle tasting dinner
- Day in medieval Siena or Cortona
- All local transportation
- Fully escorted with Il Chiostro guides
- Pick up from Florence train station at 3:30pm on arrival Saturday
- Transfer to Florence station or airport on final day
Does Not Include:
- Airfare
- Lunch (there are several options in town)
- Independent meals and sight-seeing
- Gratuities – much appreciated by your hard-working staff. We recommend €10 p/p/day.
To Register: just click on the Sign Up Now button. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to secure your spot in the workshop. Payment can be made on line with a credit card, or you can follow the instructions to send in your registration and payment by mail. Once we receive your deposit we will send you a formal Registration Confirmation with further information about the program. You will receive 2-3 other correspondences by email prior to the workshop with information about Italy, a supplies list and an electronic invoice for the balance. Final Balance is due by April 15th. Any time prior to your arrival, if you have questions about anything regarding the trip or the program, you can contact us by email or phone and we’ll be happy to assist you.
Cancellation policy:
$500 deposit is non-refundable. For cancellation:
- 60 days prior to workshop, full refund due less non-refundable deposit.
- 30-60 days prior to workshop, 50% refund of balance paid allowed, less non-refundable deposit.
Less than 30 days prior to workshop, no refund due.
Il Chiostro recommends personal travel insurance to cover the possibility of unexpected or last-minute cancellation.
Contact us for more information: info@ilchiostro.com or speak to us live at 800-990-3506.
San Giovanni d'Asso
Where We'll Stay: This is part of our new Il Chiostro Nobile series. We will be hosted for a week in an authentic, elegantly appointed villa that was at one time home to a noble Italian family. The palazzo includes a formal garden and, private swimming pool with inspiring vistas. Inside, there are 8 twin, double, or single bedrooms in the villa, each with a private bathroom. The rooms are decorated in authentic, elegant family antiques.
Common spaces include 2 elegant living rooms, a terrace overlooking the garden, a large fireplace, a kitchen, and a formal dining room.
The villa is across the street from a castle and within easy walking distance of the small town. You can easily be independent to meet and interact with the locals.
The Villa: a 13th-century manor house situated on a hillside in a small town with views of the Val d'Orcia. Owned by the current family for 102 years, it was gracefully restored in the 19th century with comfortable period furnishings. The rooms are bright and airy with high ceilings and beautiful views out to the gardens and the valley beyond. Bedrooms are elegantly appointed, each with a private, modern bathroom. Because we will be the exclusive residents at the villa during the program, the experience will be intimate, like living in our own Italian mansion. Our meals will be shared in the formal dining room, on the terrace, or in the garden. All living quarters of the villa are on the second floor, accessible only via a staircase.
The Grounds: the setting is extraordinary, overlooking the valley towards the Brunello wine country. There is a formal garden with a pool, lounge chairs, a shade arbor, and plenty of seating for outdoor meals. The Villa is an easy walk through the facing castle (now the museum of truffles) to the quiet village of San Giovanni d’Asso.
The villa and grounds consist of:
- 8 twin or double bedrooms, each with a bathroom, either ensuite or next door.
- A dining room and breakfast area
- Large terrace with tables
- 2 sitting rooms
- Wi-fi internet access
- Heat or air conditioning as necessary
- A large private formal garden area with fountains and, seating area
- A private pool at the garden edge with a valley view
- There is a changing room near the pool with a WC
- Air conditioning or ceiling fans in bedrooms
- Very quiet setting in a small village
Additional Photos of San Giovanni d'Asso:
Double bedroom and bathroom
Twin bedroom
Dining Room and Living Room in the Villa
The Town: San Giovanni d’Asso is in the Siena section of Tuscany. It is famous throughout Italy for its production of truffles. Small and quiet with fewer than 1,000 residents, the town has a café, grocery store, 2 restaurants, several historic churches, and a weekly outdoor market. A very special addition is the beautiful botanical gardens “Il Bosco della Ragnaia” (laragnaia.com/EN/) created by an artist who chose to turn his talents from painting and sculpture to designing and maintaining this beautiful space that is open free to the public.
The Area: San Giovanni d’Asso is 30 km southeast of Siena in the area known as the Crete Senese (see photo below). Pienza and Montalcino, and the famous Brunello wine country, are easy day trips.
Florence will be our meeting point on the first day of the workshop. A van will pick up the group at the train station at about 3:30 pm on the first day of the program.
We recommend that you fly into either Florence, Pisa, or Rome (Milan is a bit too far away). Florence is closer, but it doesn`t have an intercontinental airport, so there are no direct flights from the US. You would have to change planes in a larger European city. From the Florence airport, you can take either the shuttle bus (Volainbus) to the center (20 minutes) or the new tram, right outside the airport entrance (€1.50).
There are more scheduled flights from the US to Rome, many of them direct. From Rome, you will need to take a train to Florence (about 2 1/2 hours).
Important! In making your return flight arrangements, if you are flying home on the last day of the workshop, try not to book a flight too early. From our location, allow 1½ hours to get to the Florence airport or 3 ½ hours to get to the Rome airport.
For suggestions about getting to Rome or Florence, accommodations, or other logistics, please consult our Traveling to Italy link in the main menu bar above. Renting a car from all the major rental agencies is possible if you prefer to be more independent during the week.
If you have time, it is a nice treat to stay in Florence before the workshop starts. It gives you a chance to get over jet lag while at the same time allowing you to see this incredible Renaissance City. It is filled with incomparable artwork, architecture, and history - not to mention great shopping. Why not stop in for a few days? (Look at our Travel to Italy tab above for accommodations suggestions.)
Travel Agents & Insurance: Over the last few years, the way we travel has undergone significant changes. For that reason, we now encourage everyone to use a professional travel agent when arranging their trips. Travel agents save you time and stress by handling all the details and tailoring your itinerary to your needs. One of the most important services they offer today is helping you choose and enroll in the right travel insurance program. With COVID and the continued possibility of schedule changes or postponements, travel insurance has become essential, and selecting the right plan on your own can be overwhelming.
If you encounter any issues during your travels, your agent can provide quick support and solutions, taking the pressure off your shoulders. While booking through online sites like Expedia or Hotels.com may seem more convenient or less expensive, they offer little help if you need to modify your plans. A travel professional, on the other hand, is there to assist you every step of the way, ensuring a smooth and worry-free travel experience.
If you choose to Go It Alone, we highly recommend taking out travel insurance for the trip in the event of any unforeseen obstacles to your travel. We recommend Travelex (800) 504-7883 or Travel Guard International (877) 901-7599.
The Food: For us at Il Chiostro, helping our guests experience the food in one of the earth`s richest, most sensual areas is our pleasure. This area is part of Italy's famous wine and olive oil-producing region, but is specifically famous for truffles. Here we want to expose you to the wonders of simple Italian cooking. Each program at our villa in San Giovanni will have a personal chef. They use seasonal, organic products, locally produced by small farms and family shops. Tuscan cuisine is a simple art that has been refined over the centuries to surprise our palates while the wine comforts our souls. Come explore what food can really be all about.
An excerpt from a recent article in the NY Times (February 2013):
The diet that seems so valuable is our old friend the “Mediterranean” diet. It’s as straightforward as it is un-American: low in red meat, low in sugar and hyperprocessed carbs, low in junk. High in just about everything else — healthful fat (especially olive oil), vegetables, fruits, legumes, and what the people who designed the diet determined to be beneficial, or at least less-harmful, animal products; in this case, eggs and low-fat dairy. This is real food, delicious food, mostly easy-to-make food. You can eat this way without guilt and be happy and healthy.
In addition to your workshop, optional activities offered with this program will focus on the cultural, gastronomic, historical, and artistic heritage of Tuscany. This area has been an inspiration to countless people for centuries. What Tuscany offers its visitors is truly astounding:
Art - San Giovanni d`Asso is located near the cities of Medieval Siena and Renaissance Florence, packed with some of the most famous masterpieces in the world.
Wine -You are in the heart of the wine-growing region, synonymous with the most famous wine that Italy produces - Chianti. But the innovative Tuscan vintners are also producing Super Tuscans, red varietals that are quickly ascending the ranks of world-class wine.
History - this area was settled by the Etruscans centuries before the Romans were a civilized society. Their necropoli dot the fields throughout the area. Nearby towns like Radda, Vagliagli, and Castellina date from the early Middle Ages. Florence was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. San Fedele witnessed most of this from its panoramic perch atop the hillside.
Food - cucina povera is the typical Tuscan cuisine that has become popular around the world. The recipes are simple, emphasizing local and seasonal products: porcini mushrooms, salumi, legumes, vegetables, pasta, bread, and game meats. Visiting an outdoor food market, you will understand the wisdom of this very healthy cuisine.
Crafts - perhaps the harmony of the landscape has been the inspiration for many local craftsmen. Exquisite hand-painted ceramics are the prime example, closely followed by mosaics, leather, woodworking, and textiles.
Marie Fratoni is the CEO of Get Clients Everywhere working globally to help professionals build solid, long-term, successful businesses.
She coaches business owners and professionals to become savvy, social, and successful through cultivating professional relationships that are both fulfilling and profitable. She provides sound business-building strategies, coaching, and growth-filled seminars that are fun, dynamic and valuable.
As a community leader, Marie makes a difference! She is a staunch support for women in business, founding and leading several professional organizations throughout the years, designed to up-level the careers of women. She is the Founder of the Women’s Professional Development Network (WPDN) in Atlanta, a division of Get Clients Everywhere.
Her strong community involvement in charitable causes and organizations has placed her into the Who’s Who of Women in Business and the Who’s Who of International Business. Marie is a Registered Corporate Coach, RCC, popular Speaker, and she absolutely loves helping business owners double or triple their income.
Website: www.getclientseverywhere.com
