Umbrian Harvest Retreat
£500
5 in stock
Retreat with the Idler to the Umbrian countryside, 31 October – 7 November 2026
On the Idler Umbrian Harvest Retreat we’ll meet the makers and farmers of this ancient farming countryside. We’ll spend a morning picking olives and be given lunch at a local farm in a traditional cantina. We’ll sample home preserves and produce. We’ll visit the local olive press to see oil being made and an orchard growing ancient fruit varieties. We’ll cook on a fire in the chestnut groves. And we’ll look at how ancient philosophy can help us to live well.
Click above to secure your place with a £500 deposit.
Economist and universal income campaigner Guy Standing will talk about the ancient idea of the commons and commoning.
Tom Hodgkinson will discuss Stoic and Epicurean philosophy, and the history of farming literature from Socrates and Columella and Virgil to William Cobbett.
Georgia Heath will lead yoga and still life sessions.
Your host will be Idler Academy Director Victoria Hull.
Idler Umbrian Harvest Retreat Tutors
Tom Hodgkinson is editor of the Idler and author of several books including How to Live Like a Stoic: A Handbook for Happiness, How to be Idle, How to be Free and Brave Old World. He founded the Idler in 1993. His next book, How to Be Socrates: A Guide to the Good Life, will be published in 2027.
Victoria Hull is director of the Idler Academy producing online courses, events, retreats, and the Idler Festival. She founded the Clerkenwell Literary Festival in the 1990s and has been involved in programming events ever since.
Guy Standing is Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London and co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), an international NGO promoting basic income as a right. He was a programme director in the UN’s International Labour Organisation and has advised many international bodies and governments on social and economic policies.
Georgia Heath is the Idler’s travel consultant and retreats manager. She is also a qualified Vinyasa and Yin yoga teacher and practicing artist.
The Idler Umbrian Harvest Retreat Itinerary
The Idler Umbrian Harvest Retreat is designed to provide great ideas for living, lots of fun, good dining and plenty of time for idling. In the afternoons you can draw autumn produce or read beside an open fire. There are local walks, a tennis court and, for the hardier among us, a pool – all with beautiful views of the Umbrian hills.
Please note the itinerary below is subject to change but gives you a good idea of what we’ll be doing.
Saturday 31 October
Arrivals
Sundowner talk: welcome and introduction
Sunday 1 November
Morning yoga with Georgia
Walk to chestnut groves in the hills for lunch cooked on a fire
Afternoons are for napping, drawing, reading and for the more energetic, local walks or tennis
Sundowner lecture: Tom Hodgkinson on Stoics vs Epicureans
Monday 2 November
Morning yoga with Georgia
Morning lecture: Tom on William Cobbett’s Cottage Economy and the idea of self-sufficiency from Socrates onwards
Optional trip to the local winery, Blasi Cantina
Restorative yoga with Georgia
Sundowner lecture: Guy Standing on the Commons and Commoning
Tuesday 3 November
Morning yoga with Georgia
We’ll visit the local frantoio to see extra virgin olive oil being pressed and an orchard with a harvest of ancient indigenous fruit and vine varieties still grown here. We’ll stop off at the famous Piero della Francesca painting of the pregnant Madonna so symbolic of fertility: the Madonna del Parto.
Optional cooking lessons
Sundowner lecture: Guy Standing on the Education Commons
Wednesday 4 November
Morning yoga with Georgia
Morning lecture: Is farmer the most philosophical job? Tom on twelve years living on pursuing the good life on a farm in the countryside
Optional Truffle hunting
Still life drawing, local walks and optional cooking lessons for stay at homes
Sundowner lecture: Tom on utopian schemes from Plato to Coleridge
Thursday 5 November
Olive picking in the morning with local farmer Marinella
Lunch at Marinella’s cantina with her own produce
Walk from Marinella’s farm to Villa Pia with views over the Umbrian hills
Optional wine tasting
Evening off
Friday 6 November
Morning yoga with Georgia
Morning lecture: Tom on farming literature from Hesiod to Socrates to Virgil to Thomas Tusser
Still life drawing with Georgia
Final feast and singalong
Saturday 7 November
Departures
Where you’ll be staying: Villa Pia
Villa Pia sits on the border of Tuscany and Umbria on the edge of the medieval village of Lippiano. Idler retreaters have been looked after here by the brilliant team for many years. The villa has gorgeous views over the Umbrian hills, a swimming pool, tennis court and extensive gardens in which to rest and read.
The retreat is all inclusive. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all provided, and you’ll be free to help yourself to fresh fruit, coffee, tea, alcohol and soft drinks at any time of the day or night.
Villa Pia’s chefs prepare delicious local Italian cuisine with the care and attention to detail that Italians are known for. All of their ingredients are locally sourced wherever possible.
The simple elegant rooms are cleaned daily.
“Villa Pia and countryside were beautiful and the atmosphere so relaxed and relaxing.”
“I really enjoyed the open bar as it was very convivial and I never witnessed anyone taking advantage of it. I certainly commend the kitchen team; they did their work with joy and it was reflected in their offering.”
“Great venue… well organised without being too regimented… very enjoyable list of activities. Lots of interesting people and lots to learn from them in a safe and open environment.”
Optional Extras
Cooking Class: Villa Pia’s cooks are local women who learned to cook from their grandmothers. They’ll be teaching you to make pasta the traditional way or to make a dish that you have enjoyed during your stay. We’ll finish the class with Prosecco. Price around 30 euros.
Massage and beauty treatments. Book on arrival.
Prices
£1,525 per person, if sharing a bedroom with two other people, with en suite bathroom (there is only one room for three people)
£1,950 per person, twin or double with en suite bathroom
£1,995 per person, single occupancy if sharing a bathroom (with one other room)
£2,195 per person, single occupancy with en suite bathroom
Pay a deposit of £500 now, the remainder being due on 31st July 2026, three months before the retreat.
Please email mail@idler.co.uk to tell us which type of room you would like to book.
Please note the deposit is non-refundable.
What’s included
All talks, walks, yoga and trips
Airport transfers for the recommended flights
Six dinners out of the seven including wine and beer. Thursday evening is a night off: the local bar for pizza is popular or there are excellent restaurants further afield if you have a car.
All breakfasts and lunches plus fruit, coffee, tea, cake, alcohol and soft drinks at any time of the day or night
What’s not included
Flights
Massage and beauty treatments (book on arrival)
Cookery lessons
Wine tasting and truffle hunting
Pencils and crayons of your choice for still life drawing. Paper will be provided
Thursday night supper
Travel information
We recommend flying to Florence on the following flights for which we will organise a transfer bus to and from Villa Pia.
Saturday 31 November 2026
BA 7019 from London City Airport to Florence Airport, departing 11.20am and arriving at 2.30pm
Saturday 7 November 2026
BA 8472 from Florence Airport to London City Airport, departing at 10.55am and arriving at 12.05pm
You can also travel under your own steam and get to Arezzo by train. This is only 25 minutes from Villa Pia and there are plenty of taxis outside the station; cost approximately 70 euros.
Fitness
Please be aware that retreat participants must have a fair level of fitness and mobility as there will be some walking including steep hills and slippery paths.
Terms and Conditions
The deposit is nonrefundable. If your booking is cancelled less than eight weeks before the start of your holiday, 100 per cent of the total price is forfeited. Please ensure that your travel insurance is arranged at the time of booking.
Holiday Insurance: It is a condition of accepting your booking that you have personal travel insurance, including cancellation insurance for Covid, medical reasons, redundancy, jury service etc. for all members of your party. Please note that the use of Villa Pia, its facilities, grounds, and swimming pool are entirely at the user’s risk.
For more information about any part of the holiday please email georgia@idler.co.uk
