The first Sabbatical
Off the Sideline
43.3188° N, 11.3308° E · SEPTEMBER 2027 · TWENTY WOMEN
A castello in Tuscany at harvest — long light, the heat gone out of the day, the grapes and the olives and the honey coming in.
Teachers who do the thing they teach. Mornings that ask something of you. Afternoons that are deliberately, defendedly empty. Dinner every night, dressed for, at one long table. One renowned chef cooks one day of each week; a resident kitchen carries the rest.
We host the weeks. You take the month. One or two weeks of it are with us; the rest is yours, and that is deliberate — the discoveries do not happen in the seminar. They happen afterward, alone, when your mind finally has the quiet to hand you what it spent the week assembling. For the weeks that are yours we build an itinerary with you, open the archive, and introduce you to women wherever you are going.
Two weeks, two themes — come for one or for both
The second Sabbatical of each year carries Rest and Voice.
The details you did not ask for
The books you have been meaning to read are in your room when you arrive, with bookmarks placed where you left off — or at the first page of the one you have been putting off for four years. You leave with things you have wanted and never got around to. Monogrammed French linen. Your own. Two women live the weeks with you and photograph them, and you go home with this properly documented rather than badly captured on your own phone.
This is not decoration. It is the difference between being hosted and being known.
What it costs
| Room | One week | Both weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Tower & Garden Rooms | $32,000 | $56,000 |
| Standard Rooms | $40,000 | $70,000 |
| Principal Suites | $55,000 | $96,000 |
Same table, same teachers, same chef, same gifts, same everything that matters. Only the room differs. Included: accommodation, all food and wine, every session, ground transport, excursions, the personalization, the photography and the departure gifts. Not included: your flights, and travel insurance, which is required.
A $5,000 deposit holds your room — refundable for fourteen days and not after. Half the balance six months before; the remainder ninety days before. Payment plans on request.
Being able to pay is a requirement, not a qualification. We decline women who can afford this. We build each cohort deliberately — no more than three women from any one industry, mothers and women who are not, thirties through sixties. You are not here to meet women like you.
The retreats, kept
