Abbondanza Toscana - Italian cooking courses and wine tours in Tuscany, Italy

Michael Alten Cascading Falls
by Michael Alten
A Tuscan hillside The famous towers
of San Gimignano Magnificant views of
The Cinque Terre Toward Main Beach
by Michael Alten

Capture the Essence of Tuscany:
A Painting Workshop with Michael Alten
Dates: August 15 - 25, 2009
Program price: 2300 Euros

Michael's expertise working "in plein air" lends itself well to the Tuscan venue of expansive views and defining details, as he explains himself, "I stress the importance of drawing and compositional skills to create a strong point of interest, as well as using tone and the principles of warm and cool colors to create the effects of atmosphere and luminosity. I give demonstrations and present the information needed to capture and communicate the landscape simply and quickly in the changing conditions of outdoors."

A native of southern California, Michael has always been deeply fascinated by art. He has had private instruction, attended the Los Angeles Academy of Art, and most notably, the Mission: Renaissance Instructor Academy where he is Program Director and Supervisor of Internship.

Michael has participated in many gallery shows including the "Contemporary Masters, Artistic Eden" exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of History and the "Less is More" and the "Best of Plein Air" shows sponsored by the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association of which he is a member.

The Essence of Tuscany

Tuscany offers incomparable painting opportunities whether you're looking for an expansive landscape or a small study depicting the "essence" of your surroundings and experiences. There's also plenty of time to enjoy wine tours and tastings, cooking courses, visits to Renaissance and Baroque gardens, excursions to markets, touring the jewel town of Lucca, a Puccini concert, watching the shepherdess make pecorino cheese and ricotta and more. And after a day of painting and touring, you can relax in a lawn chair with a glass of wine contemplating the majesty of a cypress tree or choose a book to read from our library. Most evenings will include time with Michael and your fellow artists to share your day's work and discuss techniques and tactics.

Your time in Tuscany will be a mixture of at home, painting around the farmhouse and the estate, and away days, on excursions to hilltowns, gardens, the architectural wonder of Lucca and special trips to the stunning Cinque Terre coastal region and the beautiful hilltown San Gimignano.

“At Home”

Your home for ten days, the farmhouse Selva, is set among olive groves, vineyards and forests, with buildings that go back hundreds of years in various phases of refurbishing. The rose garden, wildflowers, lemon trees in terra cotta pots, bits of mortar crumbling away in a nook, majestic cypress trees . . . all offer more inspiration. On your walks, you’ll meet Edo the shepherd and his sheep, perhaps startle a wild pheasant or watch the doves playing in the valley.

“Away”

Your excursions away from home include stunning landscapes, quiet corners and places where you can define your own essence of Tuscany. A few highlights:

A guided tour of the romantic city of Lucca, a medieval center surrounded by intact Renaissance walls, filled with Romanesque churches and small alleys and home to the very best cappuccino in the world! You’ll end your day with a Puccini concert held in a thousand year old church containing excavations of Roman ruins.

San Gimignano is one of Tuscany's most enchanting hill towns with its famous towers, colorful markets, medieval piazzas and expansive views of vineyards and olive groves.

The Cinque Terre, site of five small villages perched over the cliffs of the Mediterranean, with almost vertical vineyards, olive groves, orchards and vegetable gardens. Colorful fishing boats dot the harbors below pastel-colored homes clinging to the rocky cliffs.

Villa Reale is surrounded by formal gardens enchanting statuary and playful fountains. The luxurious home was built for Duchess Elisa, sister of Napoleon.

Other Activities

Your meals "at home" are prepared in the Tuscan style, and you will enjoy a cooking class with our own Italian chef Emanuela who will introduce you to some of her family's secrets of Tuscan cuisine. You’ll tour the estate winery and taste both its wine and olive oil. The antique wine press dates back to 1759 and was only recently replaced with modern equipment. Eduardo, our local baker and pizza maker, will guide you through the process of designing your own pizza and cooking it in Selva's wood-fired bread oven.

To Join us on this Program

You can begin the booking process by contacting us at abbondanzatoscana@gmail.com to confirm availability of space for this program. Then please review our information about terms and conditions. Your booking deposit indicates acceptance of the program terms and conditions. After we've contacted you that there is space available, you can proceed to book your reservation.

The balance due for this workshop is payable a minimum of 60 days prior to the program start date. For this program your payment is due no later than June 15.