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Arts Sojourn : A Labor of Love

Now in our tenth year, Arts Sojourn has grown out of our love of Italy, plein air painting, the joy of vacationing with old friends, and the pleasure of meeting new ones. The Sojourn is neither a guided tour nor a traditional artists' workshop. Our goal is to create the most pleasurable and affordable vacation possible for our creative travel companions and ourselves. Our trips are impeccably planned, but we intentionally keep the dynamics of both the painting workshop and group loose to afford participants as much freedom as possible.

We believe that there are several important distinctions between Arts Sojourn and most other art/travel groups. First, we are specialists in cultural travel to Italy and we are truly expert in the areas that we bring our groups to. We can provide you with information and resources that you won’t find in the travel guides. We are unabashed Italophiles and our goal is to help you to experience Italy first hand – not through the window of a tour bus or the eyes of an English speaking guide. We pride ourselves in the quality and practicality of our orientation services. We will help you to become a confident and capable traveler, even if it’s your first time away from home.

We also make all the travel arrangements ourselves. We don’t rely on consolidators or travel agents. We deal directly with the management of our favorite hotels and restaurants. We carefully consider the quality of the facilities, the kitchen, dining service, and the care and demeanor of the staff. This process is a very personal one and we enjoy doing it. You will notice a difference when you travel with us.

We also consider the non-artistic needs of our Sojourners to be of equal importance when we do our planning. An Arts Sojourn is more than just painting and great scenery. Even the most dedicated painters don’t paint all day long so we take great care when we select our locations. You will always be in a town that is lively, yet manageable and relaxing and our hotels are usually located right in the historic center.

And last, but certainly not least, we believe in the vision of our art program. Our flexible structure never fails to attract a diverse group of artists of all levels. We regularly have well-known professional painters who join us for their pleasure along with people who are just getting started and those at every level in between. This contributes to a group dynamic that we believe is unique among art/travel groups. There is no competition and no need to conform. It is a relaxed group of friends who travel together and share a common interest. Some participants make painting a priority, some paint occasionally, and some not at all. The choice is always yours. We regularly meet as a group before dinner to discuss our artwork, or some related topic or our travel experiences.

Does the prospect of experiencing Italy accompanied by interesting creative people sound enticing to you? If so, we invite you to join us on our next Arts Sojourn. You can browse our site to find out the details, then simply print out and complete the application form. Return the application to us along with your deposit in order to reserve your place on our next Sojourn.

Ciao’!