How Sandy Little Barrel conquered the artistic world
The life and inspiring works of the artist who gives his name to your room: 3: Sandro Botticelli *** We’ll bet you’ve never heard of Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni…
Blog Archives
It’s bad luck to wish Italians good luck. Cry wolf instead
In our part of Italy most people think that wishing somebody ‘good luck’ is bad news, believing that doing so is likely to have precisely the opposite effect. So when it…
Sofonisba Anguissola: Youthful vitality and feminine ambition
The life and inspiring works of the artist who gives her name to your room: 2: Sofonisba Anguissola*** This delightful family portrait, of her three younger sisters playing chess, was…
Monet and Renoir: the genius and the hot-water bottle
We call our Watermill courses ‘convivial creativity’ and we believe that creativity is often a communal, collaborative affair. There is individual genius, of course, but for it to flourish fully…
Leon Battista Alberti: A Renaissance polymath – inspiring others by showing and telling
The first of our artists whose life and times are celebrated in Watermill bedroom names: 1. Alberti*** Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was an extraordinary Renaissance polymath: architect, artist, author, mathematician,…
Fennel Bake
Baked fennel with white wine, cream and Parmesan Here’s a tasty dish we usually serve to our guests as part of a buffet Sunday lunch — and hear many…
Sprezzatura! A cool Italian word that could have been invented for Lois
We don’t have a specific word for it in English, but sprezzatura, first coined by an Italian diplomat in the 16th Century, could have been invented for Lois. It…
Irresistib-eel!
Yes, when Flavio Terenzoni, our gardener, brought in the pumpkin and the sinuous squash, and when painting tutor Crystal Beshara arranged them in an artistic still-life, Bill couldn’t resist…
The laundry door. A remarkable blend of historic information and contemporary function
You may recollect that a few weeks back we told you about Watermill guest Doug Freerksen’s fascination with ancient artefacts at the Watermill, particularly some of the doors. Doug, from Oak…
The pacco da giù, Why food parcels travel from the poorer south to the richer north of Italy.
In general, the north of Italy is far richer than the south. Many people from southern regions like Calabria, Campania, Basilicata and Puglia, ‘emigrate’ to the north to work,…
Lest we forget: everyday reminders of past terrors on our Florence doorstep
Embedded in the pavement by the front door of houses next to our apartment building in Florence are half a dozen small square brass plaques which force us to remember…
An offbeat glance at openings at the Watermill
Doug Freerksen is an artist, designer, sculptor and, like us, a passionate restorer of old buildings. Doug, from Oak Park, Illinois, in the United States, has been involved in the…