Photography in Glorious Tuscany
Lester Lefkowitz
June 20 - June 27
$3595Expanding the boundaries of photography through light and vision in Tuscany
There are few nicer places than Tuscany, Italy, to hone your photographic vision and skills. The rolling hills, the endless vineyards, the numerous towns and villages with authentic sixteenth- and seventeenth-century buildings provide a palette of unlimited possibilities.
Our goal is to integrate photography with cultural and visual experiences in some of Italy’s spectacular World Heritage sites and charming local villages. Daily, we will make excursions in our private van to places like Siena, Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Pienza, often stopping along the way to photograph the glorious landscape.
Ample time will be provided for the downloading session (bring a laptop or tablet), where friendly critiques will be provided and post-production skills will be applied to bring your final image to perfection (Lester is a wiz at Lightroom and Photoshop, though other programs are more than welcome).
Photographers at all levels are welcome; your camera of choice can be a modern mirrorless, interchangeable-lens camera, a smartphone, or even a film camera (though local processing is not available. (Film? What’s that?) What is important is how you see, how you compose, how you use the light, how you sense the right moment.
In the little town of San Giovanni d’Asso, we’ll stay in an authentic 16th-century villa, La Consuma, that has elegant interiors and furnishings and combines medieval charm with modern amenities. To one side is a castle built in the 1200s; the other side has a lovely dining terrace that overlooks the hanging gardens and countryside beyond. There is even a private swimming pool: bring your bathing suit!
Meals and our “Home” 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. You are free to eat indoors, out on the terrace, or in the garden – or go to town to enjoy a cappuccino with the locals! There is a lovely private pool at the end of the garden, which makes for the perfect end to a long day of writing. The villa is across the street from a historic castle and within easy walking distance of the town, where there is a grocery store, cafe, restaurant, and even a weekly outdoor green market. You can easily be independent to meet and interact with the locals.
Additional Activities: Our daily photography will be combined with other adventures, such as:
- A truffle hunt with the local tartufaio and his dog.
- Walk to the nearby amazing botanical gardens, Il Bosco della Ragnaia,
- Excursions to the medieval towns of Pienza and Montalcino
- Truffle dinner – Enoteca with Donatella
- An optional wine tasting in Montalcino.
After excursions, we’ll return each evening to our Tuscan villa to enjoy the surroundings, have a glass of wine, and relax on the terrace 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: $3,595 p/p; non-participant $3,295
Optional supplement: $485 for single room (limited availability)
Non-refundable $500 deposit due upon registration. Balance due by April 16th.
Includes:
- Shared double room with private bathroom in villa (single room available for a supplement)
- Daily traditional breakfast and dinner (including wine) prepared by our personal chef
- Traditional Truffle Dinner
- Daily photography classes and critiques with Lester
- Excursions to nearby towns like Montalcino and Pienza
- Transportation and guide for all local excursions
- Pick up from Florence train station at 3:30 pm on Saturday
- Transfer to the train station in Buonconvento on the final day (not Florence) for connections to Rome, Florence, or beyond
Does Not Include:
- Airfare
- Independent meals and sightseeing
- Photography equipment or supplies (equipment and supply list will be provided)
- Gratuities – much appreciated by your hard-working staff.
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 online with a credit card, or by direct transfer from your checking account (no fees!) 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 before the workshop with information about Italy, a supplies list, and an electronic invoice for the balance.
Final Balance is due by April 16th. Any time before 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 before the 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 a 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 a 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 strongly recommend arriving in Europe at least one day before the start of the workshop; jet lag is real, and we have a vigorous program that starts on the first day.
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 must take a shuttle bus (Volainbus) to the center (20 minutes).
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.
Lester Lefkowitz has been a photographer since before he was born. He has extensive experience as a commercial photographer, writer, educator, and lecturer. Lester has led photography workshops for over twenty years in Italy, Argentina, Antarctica, New Mexico, New Zealand, and New York, and has photographed in twenty-two countries and all fifty states. He has written five books and numerous magazine articles, and has unbound enthusiasm for creating fine photographs and working with students at all levels.
Websites:
https://www.lesterlefkowitz.com/travel-two
https://www.lesterlefkowitz.com
