June 2027
Southern Siena, wide golden valleys and Brunello country. A design-led villa near Sarteano with an indoor and an outdoor pool, deep shade, and Pienza, Montalcino and Siena within easy reach.
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A week in Tuscany,lived in Italian.
Seven days, six nights on a private Tuscan estate. Two editions, two houses, two corners of Tuscany — long lunches, wine estates, the people who work the land, Siena from the inside, and Italian used because you want something, not because it is on a timetable.
Two editions
Two editions of the same week.
Tuscany runs twice in 2027, in two very different houses. The idea is identical: a private estate taken for the week, serious food, real encounters and Italian used because you want something, not because it is on a timetable. What changes is the landscape outside the door.
July 2027
The heart of Chianti, between Florence and Siena. A restored historic sanctuary with eight en-suite rooms, a private pool, and vines and olive trees running right up to the walls.
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The house · Val d'Orcia edition
A design-led villa in southern Tuscany.
Villa Conti Galgani sits above Sarteano, at the southern edge of the province of Siena, where the Val d'Orcia opens out into long golden valleys and the light does most of the work. The house has been restored with real care: stone, beams and terracotta on one side, calm contemporary rooms and proper bathrooms on the other.
There are seven bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, shaded terraces for the hottest part of the day, and gardens with enough room for everyone to disappear for an hour. This is ours for six nights: breakfast in the morning, the pool when we come home, long dinners at the villa and nowhere else we need to be.
- Exclusive use of the villa for the week
- Seven bedrooms, each with its own bathroom
- Rooms taken as your own or shared
- Views over the valley and the hills of southern Siena
- An outdoor pool and terraces for the long afternoons
- An indoor pool for the quieter hours
- Gardens, deep shade and long tables
- Sarteano, Pienza and Montalcino within easy reach
- Air conditioning throughout
- Space to read, work or do nothing
- Massage and treatments can be arranged
- Quiet corners for the whole group or for one person
- Breakfast every morning
- Daily housekeeping
- Private dinners at the villa across the week
- Our base in Tuscany for six nights
Also in Tuscany: Il Santuario, Chianti — the July edition
The house · Chianti edition
A restored sanctuary in the heart of Chianti.
Il Santuario stands near Barberino Tavarnelle, in the stretch of Chianti between Florence and Siena where the vines and olive trees run right up to the walls. The building's history is still entirely legible — arches, stone, the old bones of a sanctuary — and the restoration inside is confident and contemporary rather than rustic pastiche.
There are eight bedrooms, all en suite, a private pool set into the garden, and terraces that catch the evening. This is ours for six nights: coffee outside in the morning, the pool through the afternoon, dinner at a long table and the countryside going quiet around us.
- Exclusive use of the house for the week
- Eight bedrooms, all en suite
- Rooms taken as your own or shared
- Historic architecture with a contemporary restoration
- A private pool in the garden
- Terraces for aperitivo and long dinners
- Vines and olive trees on every side
- Chianti villages, Florence and Siena within easy reach
- Air conditioning throughout
- Housekeeping and concierge support
- Massage and treatments can be arranged
- Somewhere quiet in every part of the house
- Breakfast every morning
- Daily housekeeping
- Private dinners at the house across the week
- Our base in Chianti for six nights
Also in Tuscany: Villa Conti, Val d'Orcia — the June edition
The week, day by day
How the week runs.
Seven days, six nights. This is a sample itinerary and may shift slightly with the season, the weather and what our partners can offer on the day.
Enter Tuscany
Transfers from the airport, and then nothing you have to do. Bags down, time to settle into the villa, swim or simply stop for a while. Aperitivo as everyone comes together, introductions in whatever Italian you arrive with, and the first long dinner of the week, cooked at the house.
Day one — Enter Tuscany
Transfers from the airport, and then nothing you have to do. Bags down, time to settle into the villa, swim or simply stop for a while. Aperitivo as everyone comes together, introductions in whatever Italian you arrive with, and the first long dinner of the week, cooked at the house.
Day two — The land
A morning with a pecorino producer above Pienza: the farm, the dairy, the cheesemaker, and time to understand how it all comes together. Lunch is long and made from what is around us. The afternoon is Pienza on your own terms — the golden streets, a shop, an ice cream — then back for the pool before an unhurried dinner at the villa.
Day three — Brunello
A slow morning, then a family estate in Brunello country: the vines, the cellar, and the people behind the wine telling you why this hill is not that hill. Lunch is paired with what we have tasted. Montalcino afterwards if you want it, or the drive home the long way. Dinner is light, at the house.
Day four — From grain to table
Ancient grains, a stone mill and pici rolled by hand — quantities, ingredients and firm opinions about method, with Italian that arrives because you need to ask for the flour. We eat what we have made, at length. The entire afternoon is free: the pool, a book, a treatment, or nothing at all. Dinner at the villa, informal.
Day five — Siena from the inside
Siena with someone who lives it: the contrade, the rivalries, the Palio, and history that is still an argument rather than a museum. Lunch somewhere beautiful, then the afternoon is yours in the city — wandering, shopping, a coffee in the shade. Back to the villa for dinner.
Day six — Behind the gates, and the finale
A slow morning, then somewhere you could not otherwise go: a private estate, its gardens and the family story behind it, told by the people it belongs to. Lunch there, and back by mid-afternoon for the pool. In the evening, the finale — one exceptional table, the valley going gold outside, and a very long dinner.
Day seven — The art of doing very little, then home
A late breakfast and no programme at all. A last swim, one more coffee, the last of the conversations on the terrace. Then bags into the hall, goodbyes, and the cars for the airport.
Running through the week: several afternoons are deliberately left open — the pool, the shade, a treatment, a walk to the village, or nothing whatsoever. Doing very little is part of the design, not a gap in it.
The week, day by day
How the week runs.
Seven days, six nights. This is a sample itinerary and may shift slightly with the season, the weather and what our partners can offer on the day.
Enter Chianti
Transfers from the airport, and then nothing you have to do. Bags down, the pool, time to settle into the house. Aperitivo as everyone arrives, introductions in whatever Italian you arrive with, and a first long dinner cooked at the house.
Day one — Enter Chianti
Transfers from the airport, and then nothing you have to do. Bags down, the pool, time to settle into the house. Aperitivo as everyone arrives, introductions in whatever Italian you arrive with, and a first long dinner cooked at the house.
Day two — The people of the land
A morning with a tiny family producer just down the road: the vines, the olive trees, the work of the year, and a family who will happily talk for hours if you let them. Lunch is shared and local. The afternoon stays at the house — the pool, the shade, nothing scheduled — and dinner is cooked for us that evening.
Day three — Chianti, properly
A slow morning, then one serious historic wine estate: the cellars, the terroir, and what makes this particular part of Chianti distinctive. A long lunch among the vines, an unhurried return, the pool, and a light dinner at the house.
Day four — The Tuscan table
A private cooking experience in a historic estate kitchen: recipes, ingredients and stories, and Italian that arrives because you need to ask for the flour. Lunch is what we have made, eaten slowly. The whole afternoon is free, and the evening stays at the house.
Day five — Siena from the inside
Siena with someone who lives it: the contrade, the rivalries, the Palio, and history that is still an argument rather than a museum. Lunch somewhere beautiful, then the afternoon is yours in the city. Back to the house for dinner.
Day six — Lunch with the Count, and the finale
A slow morning, then lunch at a family estate with the count whose family has held it for centuries — the house, the wine, and the conversation that comes with both. Back in the afternoon for the pool, and then the finale: dinner in a hilltop village as the light goes, and no hurry to leave the table.
Day seven — The art of doing very little, then home
A late breakfast and no programme at all. A last swim, one more coffee, the last of the conversations on the terrace. Then bags into the hall, goodbyes, and the cars for the airport.
Running through the week: several afternoons are deliberately left open — the pool, the shade, a treatment, a walk to the village, or nothing whatsoever. Doing very little is part of the design, not a gap in it.
Languages have always been, for me, a quiet kind of superpower.
I've spent most of my life moving between languages, cultures and places, and nearly fifteen years teaching other people to do the same. But what has kept me fascinated all this time isn't really the language itself. It's what happens because of it. The people you would never otherwise have spoken to. The joke you suddenly understand. The table you become part of. The moment a place stops feeling quite so foreign because, for once, you understand what is happening around you.
That's what I wanted these weeks to capture.
Tuscany gives Italian a slower, steadier rhythm. It is there in the long lunches, in the producers who will tell you everything if you ask, in the arguments about wine and bread and which village does it properly. There is always something worth asking about, and usually someone worth asking. That is what I love about spending a week here. The Italian has a reason to come out. You use it because you want to know something, taste something, understand someone or join the conversation, and little by little it stops feeling like something you have to prepare for.
I'm there with you throughout the week. To coach you when you need it, give you confidence when you hesitate, laugh with you when the Italian goes spectacularly wrong, and spend real time together. More than anything, I want to bring you into the Italian I love: the Italian of people, places, food, stories, jokes and conversations you suddenly find yourself part of. Whether you arrive with a handful of words or years of the language behind you, I'll meet you there.
And somewhere along the way, almost without you noticing, something shifts.
You stop thinking quite so hard about the Italian. You just start speaking it.
What's included
Everything that belongs to the week.
- 6 nights
- Private house
- In Italian
- Six nights on the estate, taken exclusively for our group
- Breakfast every morning
- Private-chef dinners at the house
- Wine and aperitivi across the week
- The pool, gardens and terraces
- Daily housekeeping
- A morning with a Tuscan food producer
- A private wine estate experience with lunch
- A private Tuscan cooking experience
- A day in Siena with a local insider
- Privileged access to a private family estate and its story
- An exceptional final dinner
- Lunches and dinners across the programme
- Local transport throughout the programme
- Group arrival and departure transfers
- Optional yoga and wellbeing sessions
- A Learn&Co Italian specialist with the group throughout the week
- Language support adapted to each guest
- Language preparation before you travel
- A conversation before the retreat about your Italian
Flights and travel to Tuscany; travel insurance, which is required; spa and wellness treatments; and personal spending.
One price, the whole week.
Dates are being confirmed. Register your interest below and you will hear first.
Per person for the full seven days and six nights on the estate, including everything listed above.
For the first four.
The Founding Circle is reserved for the first four guests to join each new departure. It is not an early-bird discount. It marks the people who choose to be there at the very beginning of a new Learn&Co immersive experience.
Founding Circle guests receive:
- £500 Founding Circle benefit
- First choice of rooms
- A private language coaching session ahead of the retreat
- An intimate dinner with Maria at one of the destination's exceptional restaurants, while the rest of the group has dinner at the house
Four guests, Maria, one exceptional restaurant and a proper evening together.
Tuscany, in full
Six nights. A lot of Tuscany.
Kind words
From guests on an Italian retreat.
“I wish I could bottle that week.”
I was slightly nervous about coming on my own, mostly because I had no idea who else would be there. I needn’t have been. By the second day we were already laughing about things that had happened that morning and nobody seemed particularly keen for lunch to end.
I loved how easy the days felt. We did loads, but there was still time to swim, have another coffee, sit around talking or do absolutely nothing for a while. And I spoke so much more Italian than I normally would.
I was genuinely sad to leave. I’d made friends, my Italian was better and I’d had an absolutely brilliant holiday.
Before you ask
The questions people actually ask.
No. There is no classroom and no timetable of lessons. There are short, informal preparation moments before some of the experiences, picking up the words and expressions that might make what comes next easier. The rest of the week is simply the week, with Maria and a Learn&Co Italian specialist beside you.
Any level, including very little. We ask about your Italian and what you want from the week before you travel, so the support is right for you from the first day.
Nobody is streamed, tested or seated by ability. The support arrives differently depending on where you are: a beginner gets the sentence they need, a more confident speaker gets pushed into the harder conversation.
The idea is the same; the landscape and the house are not. June is the Val d'Orcia at Villa Conti — wide valleys, Pienza, Brunello. July is Chianti at Il Santuario — vines and olive trees, Florence and Siena either side, lunch with a count's family. Choose the one you would rather wake up in.
Absolutely. You can take a room of your own, and the week is designed to work just as naturally for someone travelling alone as for couples or friends.
Yes. Rooms can be shared, and both houses have rooms of several different characters.
Seven days and six nights.
There are farms, cellars and a day in Siena, which means old streets and steps. The rest of the week is deliberately unhurried: several afternoons are left open on purpose, and nobody is expected to fill every hour of them.
No. The sessions are entirely optional.
A great deal, and it is protected rather than left over. Several afternoons have nothing scheduled in them, the house and the pool are there to be enjoyed, and the last morning is deliberately slow. We would rather leave room than fill it.
No. Flights and travel insurance are not included.
Group transfers on arrival and departure are included.
Meals across the week are included, from breakfasts and dinners at the house to long lunches with our producers and a final dinner out. Tell us about any dietary requirements when you register and we'll work through them with the chefs and venues.
Rooms differ in size and character, taken as your own or shared. Preferences are agreed before you travel, and the Founding Circle chooses first.
A conversation about your Italian and what you want from the week, and preparation built around it.
We'll review your enquiry, confirm the dates and talk through your Italian, the week and any questions you have. Nothing is taken at registration.
Which week has your attention?
Tell us which edition you have in mind and we'll take it from there — a conversation about your Italian, the week, and whether it is right for you.
Carry on exploring.
The other Italian week: the mountain, the sea and a villa in the vineyards.
Four French weeks across the Alps and Provence, each built around its place.
Every Learn&Co week, in France and in Italy.
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