2024 Retrospective
La Romita’s official name in Italy is “Convento delle Arti”, convent of the arts – a reference to the structure’s original purpose as home, sanctuary, and workplace for monks of the Cappuchin order. The placement of the stones, dug from the rocky earth of central Italy, and arranged in the beautiful patterns of buildings and walls constantly reminds us of the history of this place, and of the...
In Memory: Richard Osler
This week we learned that our dear friend Richard Osler has passed. The outpouring of posts to honor him on various social media platforms has been deeply moving - such an incredible figure in so many ways. He came to La Romita on a quick visit this summer and we thankfully got to spend some time in his company. His great spirit and explosive, joyful laugh are fresh in our ears. We wish the very...
2024 Scholarship Recipient: Leslie Voiers
Leslie Voiers came to our Scholarship Program with an extensive art background, in the textile arts. She has contributed much to the world of hand weaving, as an artist, a teacher, and curator. It would have seemed natural for her to gravitate to this year's tapestry class, an opportunity to explore through her most accomplished medium, but instead she chose to attend Carol Ivey's plein air...
2024 Scholarship Recipient: JoRene Byers
JoRene Byers was awarded a 2024 scholarship on the strength of her application and the 3 excellent poems. Of her submission, the Scholarship committee wrote: "her love of the natural world is woven with her writing practice and poetry. Her education, publishing and interest in history and community convey a kind of care and dedication that seems so well suited and uplifting for the La Romita...
2024 Support Our Scholarships Fundraiser
La Romita has magic. It seems trite to put it that way, but it's the simplest way we've found to summarize the feedback we get, through conversations our guests have during meals, the testimonials we get, the comments we receive in social media. Those who have come to La Romita use phrases like "life-changing" and "transformative”, describe deeply affecting experiences, and talk about the...
2024 Scholarship Recipient: Yvonne Manipon
Yvonne Manipon applied for to our Scholarship Program in the hopes that she would be able to attend Fran Valesco's printmaking and watermedia workshop. As a full time art teacher at a Catholic High School in Hawaii, Yvonne seeks to expose her students to a variety of art media and techniques. Although already a seasoned plein air oil painter who would relish an opportunity to explore Umbria,...
In Memory: Benno Philippson
We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of Benno Philippson, one of La Romita's great friends. Over a period of more than fifteen years, Benno brought groups of his followers to La Romita. His skill as an architect informed his painting and teaching, with a grand respect for composition and perspective. We share our grief with his many students here in Umbria, but also with...
2024 Scholarship Winners
We are excited to announce this year's winners of the Enza and Paola Quargnali Memorial Scholarship!JoRene Beyers - Poetry Workshop: Melissa Young and Emily Ransdell - The Art of Discovery Comments from the Committee: "[...] her love of the natural world is woven with her writing practice and poetry. Her education, publishing and interest in history and community convey a kind of care and...
Announcing: La Romita’s Residency Program!
Throughout the almost 60 years of our existence, we have taken advantage of the sweet summer sun in central Italy to host our workshops and retreats. Our season has run from May through October for decades. One of the questions we hear most frequently is, ‘What happens to La Romita during the off season?’. Up till now, the answer has been that we turn off the lights, close the gates, and come...
In Memory: Lisa Guthrie
It is with great sadness that we tell of the parting of one of La Romita's great friends and supporters, Lisa Guthrie. Lisa was a great artist and teach, and an accomplished landscape architect. She came to La Romita many times over the last decades…as a teacher as well as a participant. In her most recent trip to La Romita, she offered her skills as both artist and architect, taking her group...
Thank you to our 2021 Donors
A great big Thank You! to everyone who donated to La Romita as part of our 2021 Fundraiser! Your contributions helped pay our key staff and other expenses. We only reached $7000 of our $10,000 goal - but it was a high goal for us and we were gratified by how many people showed their support. Many of you contributed as part of the Memory Books campaign, adding a donation to your submission to add...
April Travel Q&A
Questions or concerns about attending La Romita this summer? We are hosting another round special Q&A zoom-calls, open to anyone who is considering coming to La Romita this year or just curious about travel. Both sessions are free and open to everyone! Use the links below to register to attend: SESSION 1 – 2PM Pacific THURSDAY April 7TH SESSION 2 – 5PM Pacific THURSDAY April 7TH ...
The New Grand Tour
The New Grand Tour A La Romita Tribute Itinerary Introduction La Romita could be considered a direct descendant of the “Grand Tour” of the 18th century and beyond. Most popular among wealthy young British men seeking a kind of worldly status, the Grand Tour was focused primarily on a search for the art and history of France and Italy, a search for the roots of western civilization. Some...
2021 Memory Book
So many participants have let us know, in so many ways, how much an experience at La Romita has meant to them. One of the most fun and creative ways that our participants have let us know is through our “Memory Books”…the scrapbooks in which each group is encouraged to leave some artistic or poetic message for us, and for future groups to see. Teachers and their students have collaborated on...
End of Year Aperitivi
It's time for our new La Romita tradition, the End of Year Aperitivos! When the pandemic hit, we scrambled for a way to establish something positive, something aligned to our mission, and the Aperitivos quickly became our primary tool. Last year, we hosted a three-part series to cap what we thought would be the year lost to pandemic, expecting that by summer we'd be able to host workshops...
2021 Memory Book Fundraiser
15 December UPDATE: Our Memory Books campaign has ended for 2021, but it was a great success! We were so thrilled with the response and the show of love that we will definitely do something like it again! In the meantime, check out our Memory Books 2021 online gallery, featuring all the submissions we received, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter to stay in touch! We...
Self Portrait of My Selves with No Self-Pity – by Susan Landgraf
In December 2020 we held a special online event titled "Self Portrait in a Bathroom Mirror" as part of our Tre Aperitivi fundraiser. Susan Landgraf, Auburn Washington Poet Laureate, submitted the following poem and graciously allowed us to publish it here.Self-Portrait of My Selves with No Self-Pity “Be the statue on the dashboardtraveling hopefully.”Kelli Russell Agodon To be is not...
Stuart Schwartz and Jeff Zaruba
Stuart Schwartz, photographer and founder of “The Image Flow”, a photography learning center and gallery in Mill Valley California, along with photographer Jeff Zaruba, brought a group of photography students to La Romita in 2017 to spend ten days combining these two arts in the most tantalizing ways. To help us we enlisted the support of a longtime La Romita friend and collaborator, Alberto...
The Arts and Healing: Words from Dr. Raymond Brown
Our aperitivo on January 28 featured some amazing voices of artists working to help people to endure the hardships of life. Unfortunately, we were unable to hear our fourth guest, Doctor Ray Brow, because of technical difficulties and will instead be our first guest for our Feb 25 Aperitivo. Doctor Ray works on the front lines of this battle. As a specialist in Geriatric medicine, he has many...
In Memory of Carol Maddox
Our hearts go out to Ed and Kathy and the family for the passing of our longtime teacher, collaborator and friend Carol Maddox. She first taught at La Romita in 1994 and taught every other year for 20 years. As an artist Carol’s many awards include the American Watercolor Society’s Gold Medal in 2004, its Signature Award in 2008, and the H. Gramatky Award in 2011, along with three awards from...