Stone Carving and the Dolce Vita in Umbria - 8-Day Intensive Course

Castel Rigone, Italy
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Summary

The stone sculpture courses led by artist Wolfgang Sandt in Umbria are not just “ordinary” sculpture classes, but a comprehensive creative and culinary experience. Relax and savor the moment with all your senses while taking on the challenge of shaping your own sculpture from a rough block of stone. Before the course begins, Wolfgang Sandt discusses each participant’s project and prepares everything accordingly. The tools are ready and waiting, so everyone can get started right away when the course begins. He provides clear, hands-on instructions and demonstrates how to work effectively. On top of that, you’ll be treated to delicious Italian food and won’t have to worry about a thing. Stone sculpting and la dolce vita in Italy!

For the sculpture course with Wolfgang Sandt, you don’t need any prior experience, massive muscles, or superhuman strength.

What you should have instead is the determination to “stick with it” and a little patience.

We prefer to create sculptures from marble or limestone. These stones are well-suited for sculpting. You’ll determine which material is particularly well-suited for your individual sculpture together with Wolfgang Sandt during a preparatory discussion.

Your stone will be selected and prepared for you according to your individual preferences.

The stone for your sculpture, already included in the course fee, is specified as weighing 100 kg in its raw state. This corresponds roughly to a marble block with dimensions of 40 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm.

However, this does not mean that your stone must have exactly these dimensions, or that it cannot slightly exceed the 100 kg weight. Consider the dimensions listed above more as a guideline when thinking about what you want to create.

Experience shows that even without prior knowledge, you can create an impressive sculpture from a stone of this size in a week. With larger stones, however, the amount of work involved is considerably greater.

Umbria’s millennia-old culture can serve as inspiration during your course at La Rogaia, as can visits to works of sculpture from antiquity to the Renaissance, in museums and at archaeological sites.

Villa La Rogaia is located in the heartland of Etruscan culture. Nearby, there are Etruscan tombs and museums featuring Roman and Etruscan artworks to explore.

During a full-day excursion, we will visit at least one of these museums.

Book your vacation risk-free!

In light of the current situation, we have adjusted our cancellation policy for all bookings: If a stay cannot take place due to “force majeure” (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic), such as when our guests are unable to arrive due to travel restrictions, we will of course grant a free cancellation option up to 24 hours before the start of your stay. We will then refund your entire payment.

The retreat at a glance

The most important facts in a nutshell:

Categories
Sculpting, Creative Retreats
Date
2026-09-05 - 2026-09-12
Language(s)
English, German, Italian
Level
Expert, Advanced, Beginner
Place
Castel Rigone, Italy
Accommodation
Overnight stay included
Catering
Half board
Services
  • Sculpting materials and stone

  • Intensive sculpture classes over 5 days

  • Accommodation in a double room

  • Half-board

Accommodation

The price includes 7 nights' accommodation at the "Villa La Rogaia" agriturismo in an apartment with a private bathroom.

"Villa La Rogaia" is a family-run agriturismo (country house) nestled in the countryside, in the hills above Lake Trasimeno in Umbria. Guests stay in small apartments with a bathroom and kitchen or in rooms with a shared bathroom for every two rooms. All accommodations have been furnished with great attention to detail and feature sculptures and paintings by the artist Wolfgang Sandt. The house is surrounded by a spacious garden with a pool; everywhere you look, there are dreamy nooks with sculptures and cozy little seating areas from which the view sweeps over olive groves, vineyards, lavender fields, and meadows.

Catering

Half-board is included in the price, which means your meals are taken care of and you don’t have to worry about a thing.
A generous breakfast buffet awaits you in the morning.
In the evening, Mamma Ornella or one of our other cooks will prepare a meal for you:
We serve authentic Umbrian and Tuscan dishes made with ingredients from our own garden and organic farms in the region. And when "Mamma" Ornella makes her grand entrance, with bowls of homemade pasta, the typical Umbrian Torta al testo (the original Umbrian version of pizza), and all the other dishes based on traditional family recipes, the room fills not only with the aroma of delicious food but also with her whole Mediterranean spirit and her infectious laughter.
On some evenings, Wolfgang Sandt will take you to typical Umbrian restaurants in the area.
This means you can spend time with the artist not only during class hours but also during meals; if you wish, you can talk about art, ask questions, and receive further inspiration and guidance for your sculptural work.

Arrival

Travel expenses are not included.
We recommend traveling by car; we’d be happy to provide directions.
However, you’re also welcome to travel by train; we’ll pick you up at the Passignano sul Trasimeno train station.

Villa La Rogaia , 06065 Castel Rigone, Umbria, Italy

Cancellation policy

Full refund up to 300 days before arrival.
If you cancel up to 30 days before arrival, you will receive a 70% refund of the booking price.
After this, the booking is non-refundable.

If you need to cancel your vacation, we will immediately try to offer your course spot or accommodation to other interested parties. If no replacement can be found, we will retain the 30% deposit for cancellations made up to 30 days before the course begins. Starting 29 days before the course begins, we must charge you 80% for accommodation and meals if no replacement participant or tenant can be found. In the event of a cancellation 29 days or fewer before the course begins, the course instructors will retain 100% of the course fee. However, we will still make every effort to find a replacement participant or tenant, even for last-minute cancellations. If we or you succeed in finding a replacement participant or tenant, you will receive your deposit back minus a processing fee of €25. If we can only rebook your course spot/accommodation at a discounted last-minute rate, you will be responsible for the difference.

In the event of a course instructor’s absence, we reserve the right to find a suitable replacement. Should we, in exceptional cases, be unable to do so, you will receive a refund of either the course fee or the total price, depending on whether you wish to come to us even without the course or not. If the minimum number of participants for a course is not reached, we reserve the right to cancel the course up to 4 weeks before it begins. In this case, you will, of course, receive an immediate refund of your course fee. However, we are unfortunately unable to cover any costs for flight bookings or similar arrangements that have already been made. Services not utilized (e.g., in the event of early departure) cannot be refunded.

Dates

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