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| Vineyards in Gaiole in Chianti in the Chianti Classico region (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
By []Giovanni Balboni
New research tells us that learning is good for our health! Learning new skills offers numerous health benefits: mental, emotional, and physical. By learning new skills you are building new neural pathways that keep your brain active, healthy and ward off the dreaded dementia. Learning in a class situation is sociable and provides opportunities to make new like-minded friends; so, why not combine some of your hard-earned leisure time with the opportunity to improve your mind and spirit and head to Italy!
Live and Learn Under the Tuscan Sun
In Chianti, villas to rent are the ideal accommodation if you want to be located close to a great variety of classes - and there is something to suit everyone. For the idea of taking classes whilst on holiday to be something worthwhile, and something you'll want to do, you need a location that won't add stress of navigating local transport or long distances just to get your to class. The central location, at the heart of Tuscany, in central Italy, makes it the perfect base for venturing out to absorb and enjoy lessons in painting, ceramics, cooking or to learn the Italian language or even horse-riding.
This beautiful region sits between Florence, Siena and Arezzo, the main art centres of Italy. The rolling, green hills are legendary and offer picture postcard vistas.
There are so many inspiring and quality learning opportunities available to visitors to Chianti. Villas to rent will be within easy access to a town's centre where you can enrich mind, body and soul. A short painting course can be a great start.
Art Classes
Everywhere you look here seems to be the subject matter for a Tuscan masterpiece.
The aesthetically sensitive can't help but be inspired by the breath-taking beauty of the geometry of the rolling vineyards and terraced slopes, the tall green Cyprus trees, the silver olive groves, the green woods and the clear blue skies that create an engaging palette of colours, that you will be eager to capture in paint.
The landscape is riddled with beautiful architecture, sixteenth century towers and sleepy medieval castles and villages. There are so many sights you'll be inspired to capture in paint or pastel; you'll never run out of subject matter here. You can paint the landscapes that inspired the likes of the great Italian master Renaissance artists such as Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo, Titian and Bellini and leave knowing that you too have been a part of that. For those who want to mould some Tuscan clay into a ceramic vessel or sculpture, there are courses available at the numerous studios of the region.
Cooking Classes
Famous for pasta, pizza, gelato and great produce, Tuscany is the perfect place for you to up-skill in the culinary department. Legumes and fresh produce are the staples of Italian cookery. Learn how to cook the delicious local pulses, the fava and the dried white beans toscanelli, cannellini and zolfini. The myriad recipes the locals have for the humble bean has earned them the epithet of the 'mangiafagioli', or bean eaters.
There are numerous cooking classes to choose from that will ensure that you take the taste of Italy home. Toscana Mia is a school run by the much admired Simonetta and Paola and classes can be for a day or a week. Also, many of the ubiquitous vineyards offer wine-tasting classes - not to be missed when in the renowned home of the famed wine that takes its name from the region.
Italian Classes
There are so many benefits of holidaying in Chianti villas. To rent in the region also gives one the freedom to savour the area from several different vantage points or locations, each which comes with another angle to take on life in this culturally rich part of the world. Opportunities for building those neural pathways abound; including Italian language courses and Italian culture classes, also offered at Toscana Mia.
Horse Riding and Trekking
Ancient hillside trails suitable for all levels of fitness are plentiful, and horse riding and trekking the area are not only great ways to take time out from all the cerebral rigor you are enjoying, but another opportunity to discover fresh subjects to paint or draw, practise your language skills (horses are very obliging), or soak up the sights.
Learning holidays are challenging and exciting; the skills you learn become a part of you and really do ensure a memorable experience that you'll never forget.
Giovanni Balboni works for To Tuscany, who specialise in finding the perfect [http://www.to-tuscany.com/]Chianti villas to rent as well as in other regions in Tuscany, Umbria and Puglia. To Tuscany is proud of their villas and their reputation. All our properties are personally selected and visited by our representatives to ensure we offer only the best in the regions.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Learning-Holidays-in-Chianti&id=7439361] Learning Holidays in Chianti
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