Yes, as I write, more than 200 people (207 to be precise) have already booked their place on one of the Watermill’s 2023 creative courses, in painting, creative writing, knitting or Italian language, and are enjoying the warm contemplation of a convivial creative week here next year. Thank you very much for the bookings, both […]
A 13th century Italian mathematician, breeding rabbits and beautiful spirals of sunflowers
Did you know that yesterday was Fibonacci day? Neither did I until this morning, so my apologies for being a day late. If you are among the many people who are asking Who? or even What? I have to confess that until a few years ago I was one of them. But Leonardo Fibonacci is […]
The Gentileschi bedroom: celebrating a 17th century female painter who achieved fame in a man’s world
Our Facebook tours of Watermill bedrooms continue today with the Gentileschi: celebrating the life and work of Artemisia Gentileschi, an early 17th century Baroque painter at work in Florence at a time when female painters were not easily accepted by the artistic community, nor by patrons. But she was highly successful and was the first […]
The last harvest home and the latest availability on our 2023 creative courses
It is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and above is one of our last Watermill harvests of the year. These are the glorious golden orbs of cacchi, persimmons, culled by Lois from our tree at the end of the walled garden, and here they are, ripening in the Watermill courtyard. We are looking […]
Could the Ghiberti bedoom be the gateway to a week of ceative paradise?
Lorenzo Ghiberti‘s baptistery doors are rightly hailed as one of the great Renaissance creations. The enormous bronze doors on the eastern side of Florence’s baptistery were described by Michelangelo as the Gates of Paradise and their 10 relief panels are recognised as masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture. Ghiberti (1378 – 1455) was the great rival of my hero Filippo Brunelleschi, but […]
Time to turn November’s chilliness into next year’s creative warmth
Do you remember that poem about November by Thomas Hood? No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! –November! As the nights are drawing in and it is getting chillier (in the northern hemisphere at least) it is time to contemplate the warmth of the welcome on a […]
A Botticelli with marvellous views
Our virtual tour of the Watermill’s bedrooms, named after famous Italian artists, arrives today at Botticelli. The delightful little video above, by Ella McCready, gives you a flavour of its ambience Of all the painters we celebrate, Sandro Botticelli needs least introduction. His painting The Birth of Venus is an artistic icon, instantly recognisable. His paintings seldom […]
We’ve now produced more than 50,000 KWh of electricity from the sun. How’s that for Cool and Green?
As you may know, more than a couple of years ago, we installed at the Watermill a hidden array of photovoltaic panels on our south-facing roofs, to produce electricity from the sun. These panels make us more than self-sufficient in electricity: we make much more than we have to buy to use during sunless periods. […]
Our thanks to ‘Ega1912’ for a great TripAdvisor review – and ‘gs’ for a great picture
Here’s another lovely TripAdvisor review, from ‘Ega1912’ for our Italian Language week: I enjoyed a delightful stay at the beautiful Watermill at Posara for a week improving my Italian with my fellow students and teacher Giulia.I was picked up from Pisa airport and sped along the highways to the Watermill and warmly greeted by Bill […]
The Watermill’s Bronzino bedroom celebrates a painter of glittering portraits
In the coming weeks, I thought we might have a series of ‘tours’ of our Watermill bedrooms, all of which have been painstakingly restored and, we think, elegantly decorated. All our Watermill bedrooms and apartment suites are named after famous Italian artists, mainly of the Renaissance but also moving into the later Mannerist period. Today […]