Casa della Zia New

A Taste of Village Life: Custom Food, Art & Outdoor Adventures
Escape with your small group to Vallo di Nera, a medieval village tucked into the hills of Umbria.

Located just two hours north of Rome, this stone-walled village is surrounded by forests and quiet countryside. Life here moves slowly. Artisans, cafés, and everyday moments are woven into the fabric of village life—discoveries your Italian-American host, Jessica Vecchione, shares as she guides you through the experience.
Guests stay in Jessica’s private home in the center of the village. From there, each group creates its own path through Umbria. These custom retreats are built around slow travel, allowing your group to design days filled with the experiences that matter most—at a pace that feels natural, personal, and unhurried.
Start Planning Your Custom Journey with a 30 Minute Chat
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Zoom Call with Jessica & Jeanette (Maiolica Painting Retreat, May 11 - 15)
Virtual
Curious about our Maiolica Painting Retreat in Umbria? A brief Zoom call is the best way to explore whether this experience is the right fit for you. Join Jessica Vecchione, host of Casa Della Zia, and Jeanette Platania-Harper, master maiolica artist, for a relaxed, no-pressure conversation about what the week truly feels like — not just the itinerary, but the pace, setting, and creative experience of living and painting in Umbria. We’ll cover retreat dates, pricing, travel logistics, accommodations, meals, group size, and what a typical day looks like, including studio time, excursions, and downtime. You’ll also have time to ask questions and talk through your goals, experience level, and expectations. If you’re considering a custom retreat or private small-group trip, we can also discuss interests, preferred pace, and possible tailored options. This call is purely informational — an opportunity to gain clarity, meet your hosts, and decide whether this retreat aligns with what you’re looking for. Schedule your Zoom call below.
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Event time zone:America/New York GMT-05:00
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Zoom Call with Jessica Vecchione
Virtual
Join me for a brief Zoom call to talk about Umbria and explore whether a scheduled retreat or a custom-designed trip for your small group is the right fit. These conversations are especially helpful if you’re thinking about traveling with friends, family, or a creative group and want something more personal than a standard tour. We’ll talk through dates, pricing, travel, lodging, meals, and what a typical week looks like when staying in the Valnerina at Casa Della Zia. I’ll also explain how custom trips work for groups of up to 10 people and how we shape the experience around your shared interests. We’ll talk about what excites you most — whether that’s culinary experiences, art and hands-on workshops, time outdoors hiking or exploring hill towns, or a thoughtful blend of all three. We’ll also discuss pace, balance between structured activities and free time, and any special ideas you may already have in mind, so I can suggest a few tailored options that fit your group’s style. There’s no pressure and no obligation, just a friendly, informative conversation to answer your questions and help you decide what kind of Umbrian experience will be most meaningful for you and your group.
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Event time zone:America/New York GMT-05:00
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Zoom Call with Jessica & Teresa (Sketching for Travel June 8 -15)
Virtual
Join me for a brief Zoom call with Teresa Bonner to talk about Umbria and our Wander & Sketch: Travel Sketching in Umbria workshop, June 8–15, 2026, based at Casa Della Zia in Vallo di Nera. The full itinerary is available to review in advance. This is a friendly, no-pressure conversation where we’ll walk through dates, pricing, travel and transfers, lodging, meals, and what a typical week feels like. Teresa will also answer questions about her sketching approach and how the workshop is welcoming to absolute beginners as well as more experienced sketchers. We’ll talk about the kinds of places you’ll be sketching—from medieval streets in Vallo di Nera to inspiring day trips to nearby Umbrian towns—along with how the week balances guided instruction, practice time, and relaxed exploration of everyday life. Book a Zoom time below and bring your questions. This call is simply an opportunity to get clarity and decide whether this workshop is the right fit for you.
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Event time zone:America/New York GMT-05:00
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Zoom Call with Jessica & Candace (Sky & Stone September 15 - 20) 1
Virtual
Join me for a brief Zoom call with Candace Rudd to talk about Umbria and the Sky & Stone small-group yoga retreat, September 14–20, 2026, exhibit at Casa Della Zia in Vallo di Nera. The full itinerary is available to review in advance. This is a friendly, no-pressure conversation where we’ll walk through dates, pricing, travel and transfers, lodging, meals, and what a typical week feels like. Candace will also answer questions about the yoga practice, daily flow, and how the retreat balances movement, rest, and connection to place. We’ll talk about the rhythm of the week, including daily yoga, gentle hikes, time outdoors, visits to nearby Umbrian towns, shared meals, and unstructured time to relax and enjoy village life. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions about physical requirements, pace, and whether this retreat is a good fit for you. Book a Zoom time below and bring your questions. This call is simply an opportunity to get clarity and decide whether this retreat aligns with what you’re looking for.
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Event time zone:America/New York GMT-05:00
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Buon Giorno

A glimpse into what awaits you...
What to Expect During Your Stay at Casa della Zia
Slow days, thoughtful experiences, and a true sense of place.
EAT
Italy’s artisan food culture is woven into everyday life, and we take you beyond the obvious to discover local producers, hidden cheese caves, and family-run kitchens where time slows and meals unfold over hours. Guests share in hands-on cooking lessons rooted in regional traditions, enjoy long, unhurried tables paired with local wines like Montefalco and Grechetto, and explore small shops where flavors become meaningful, edible memories to bring home.
EXPLORE
Casa Della Zia is located in Vallo di Nera, in the green heart of Umbria—less than two hours north of Rome and under three hours south of Florence. Surrounded by forested valleys and olive groves, it’s a quiet, stone-walled village far from the crowds.
From here, we visit nearby hill towns like Assisi, Spoleto, Trevi, Deruta, Scheggino, and Montefalco moving at an unhurried pace and experiencing Umbria as it’s lived, not rushed.

RELAX
Every stay is intentionally customized, designed around your interests and pace. Choose from painting, sketching, yoga, or cooking as a guiding focus — or start from scratch and let us build a retreat together. From hands-on experiences and slow, shared meals to time set aside for exploration, rest, and inspiration, each retreat is shaped to feel personal, immersive, and unhurried — very much like life in Umbria itself.

EXPERIENCE
Immerse yourself in the history of the Italian countryside. Casa della Zia is a home fitted snugly into the jigsaw puzzle of Vallo di Nera, built in the mid 1500s. Centered around the castle of Vallo and four churches from the 12th-15th centuries, it feels as if you are traveling back in time as you walk the stone streets surrounded by fortress walls and stone homes. Nearby villages each have their own unique history to tell, with museums, art, and artisans that continue to flourish amidst the Roman infrastructure.
Your Home Away From Home

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