A 1,000-year-old castle in Umbria is offering guests the chance to master forgotten medieval crafts through new three-day creative retreats inspired by ancient monastic traditions. Olivia Palamountain reports

Reschio, a 3,700-acre family-owned estate on the Umbria-Tuscany border, has launched a retreat programme teaching skills such as egg tempera painting, longbow crafting and traditional calligraphy within its historic castle walls.

The "upskilling" retreat programme draws inspiration from Umbria's monastery heritage, where monks followed the Benedictine Rule of "ora et labora" (pray and work), dedicating themselves to manual crafts alongside prayer and study.

The Monastic Art retreat teaches participants lost artistic techniques including egg tempera painting and gesso preparation - methods used in Renaissance masterpieces but rarely practised today. Guests learn to mix pigments, prepare traditional painting surfaces, and apply finishing touches including gilding and egg varnish.The Archery and Bowmaking retreat, guided by the Master Bowyers of Florence, teaches participants to craft longbows from reed logs and adorn arrows with real bird feathers, culminating in a friendly tournament across the estate.

An innovative aspect of the estate's expanded "Household Habits" workshops is their interconnected design - guests can dye fabric in the morning before using those coloured threads for afternoon embroidery, or marble paper and bind it into handmade notebooks ready for calligraphy classes.

The programme includes a workshop on flag throwing, taught by experts from Sansepolcro - the birthplace of this centuries-old Italian ceremonial art. The weaving workshop offers rare insight into Perugia's historic looms, whose intricate textiles have been depicted in Renaissance paintings for centuries.
Sessions are held in atmospheric locations including the castle's Old Stables and Tack Room, with master artisans providing expert guidance throughout the intimate, small-group experiences.

The retreats take place at Reschio Hotel, housed within the meticulously restored 10th-century castle featuring 35 guest rooms. The property includes The Bathhouse spa, set in ancient vaulted wine cellars with salt-water plunge pools and hammam, alongside 40 Spanish pure-bred horses at the estate's Equestrian Centre.
Three-day creative retreats include accommodation, course materials and breakfast, with rates starting from €4,284 for Calligraphy and €5,178 for Archery and Bowmaking. Upcoming retreat dates include Calligraphy (18-20 August), Archery and Bowmaking (27-29 October), Monastic Art (4-6 November), and Calligraphy (5-7 December).

The estate, bought by Count Antonio Bolza in 1994, has been transformed from ruins into one of Italy's most distinctive heritage properties, with seven restored farmhouses available for private rental alongside the castle hotel.