Awaken Your Creativity
Writing Workshop & Retreat in Italy
October 18-28, 2024
10 days of blissful living in a peaceful mountain retreat, immersed in local culture, surrounded by idyllic scenery, enjoying food prepared with love with fresh from the farm ingredients where you can refresh, gain focus, and spark a passion for your writing project.
Where
Roseto Valfortore, Italy
When
October 18-28, 2024
Who Can Apply
Writers of all levels are welcome to attend this retreat.
Are You Getting in Your Own Way?
“I want to write a book.” Just saying that can be overwhelming. Yet, your heart is tugging at you to share your story.
Your calendar screams at you. Your day is already full. Your life is already packed. When are you going to do this?
You’ve been feeding your inner critic. Letting voices that say, “How are you going to do this,” make you think you must do it alone with no guidance or support. Keeping you small.
Breathe. Release.
Step out of being stuck and into the beauty of the Italian countryside. Here life is slower. Feel your shoulders fall. Wake up rested.
Together we can address what is underneath of your fear. Let go of those old voices telling you what you cannot do. Release old habits of packing your calendar so full that you don’t have time to care for yourself or to nurture your dreams.
In Roseto, we will rest, reset, and re-evaluate. You can do this in a kind and supportive community of writers with big dreams and your same struggles.
All around you are living examples of an unhurried life. Soak it in. You’re your solid ground. Create a plan to let go of your fear and embrace your future.
You are not alone, and You can do this.
Creating Community
Our goal is to create a community of writers who love good food, are excited by travel, are inspired by new experiences, and are generous in supporting each other's writing goals through careful listening and insightful conversation.
A Safe Space
Creating a safe and stimulating environment begins at the very start of our process. We will schedule a call to talk about your writing journey and your goals.
We're gathering writers who will find camaraderie during group sessions and on our tours. People who will listen deeply and share in ways we may not allow ourselves to connect at home.
Let Italy Be Your Muse
We want to help your creativity bloom. Stepping outside of your comfort zone, trying new things, seeing new cultures, and challenging old habits leads to change and growth.
Find Focus and Direction
On our days in town, attend a class or workshop in the morning, then gather with the group for a leisurely traditional lunch.
In the afternoons, use your free time to nap, relax, or write in the quiet of your room—or you can explore.
Invigorate your senses as you walk the winding streets of this ancient mountain town. Strike up a conversation at the bar, or get a lesson in playing cards from a newfound local friend.
Feed Your Creativity
Let the culture, history, and beauty of the land inspire you.
Learn how to make homemade pasta.
Venture outside of Roseto to visit the ruins of a 2,000 year old Roman amphitheater.
Spend an afternoon without hurry or worry at a family run vineyard as the somalier pours you glasses of wine and explains how each one pairs with the multi-course meal before you.
See how quickly the terrain changes, as we travel across the region to visit a religious stronghold, walk the walls and dungeons of a Norman castle, and descend into the earth to see a church carved out of an ancient cave.
Sing the Praises of Italian Food
Italian food is one of the world’s most beloved cuisines, admired for its emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients and simple preparation. Relying on the local harvest means each region has developed dishes that reflect the vegetables, fungi, nuts, and legumes that thrive in the soil, sun, and temperatures of the area.
Rooted in tradition and heritage, recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Anyone who has spent time cooking beside their moms and aunties knows these seasoned cooks can tell when something is just right by the fragrance of the sauce or the feel of the dough.
You can’t put that in a recipe, and it’s one reason why the meatballs, pizza, pasta, and polpette you will eat on our trip taste so heavenly.
Whether it’s a cozy family dinette or the private table at a chef’s ristorante, cooking with love, care, and the finest ingredients is a hallmark of Italian culture.
Why Roseto Valfortore, Italy
The Roseto Effect: A Medical Mystery and the Secret to a Healthy Heart
In 1961, Dr. Stewart Wolf was talking to a doctor who cared for patients in the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Roseto was a small town settled by immigrants from Roseto Valfortore, Italy. The doctor told Wolf there was little heart disease in the town.
Wolf was intrigued. Why didn’t the folks in Roseto have heart attacks at the same rates as nearby towns of the same size? Was it what they ate? Was it how they exercised? If Wolf could discover their secret, maybe other people could reduce their risk of heart attack.
Wolf and his colleagues conducted an extensive study of the people in Roseto, Pennsylvania. The townspeople willingly participated in the testing.
The results revealed a secret.
Published in 1963, the now famous study led to what is called “The Roseto Effect”. It turns out it wasn’t what they ate or how they exercised. Positive human relationships were keeping the people in Roseto, Pennsylvania healthy!
In the small, tight-knit community, people knew one another, supported, and cared for one another. Their family relationships were incredibly strong.
Doctors concluded it was this network of support and strong family bonds that dropped their rates of heart disease…the “Roseto Effect”.
On this trip, you’ll see the lifestyle that inspired this amazing health benefit. You will witness their sense of community in the Piazza, during the evening strolls, in the cafes where neighbors meet to chat, and at church.
Sadly, you can’t see this phenomenon in Pennsylvania. People in Roseto, Pennsylvania adopted an American lifestyle, their tight family bonds relaxed, and their rates of heart disease now resemble those of similar U.S. communities.
And isn’t that why we travel and immerse ourselves in a world that is different than the one we live in? To learn from the world and bring those lessons back into our lives where they can enrich our daily experience.
GET 3 FREE OFFERS
Enter your first name and email address to get the following:
FREE E-BOOK easy guide to create clear, actionable, and attainable goals for your writing project, visualize those goals, avoid distractions, boost your motivation, and spark your creativity.
COMMUNITY Get your invitations to live Zoom events to meet event organizers and like-minded writers.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Receive a monthly newsletter to inspire your writing. You'll get writing prompts and skill-building exercises.
- Your information is 100% secure and will never be shared with anyone
- 10 days in a small village in Southern Italy
- All transportation (after you land)
- Lodging in B&B's (includes breakfast)
- Welcome dinner
- A walking tour of Roseto
- Day trip to ancient Roman Amphitheater
- Mercato day (the street market)
- Local winery visit (lunch & wine incl.)
- Experiences local social clubs
- All meals
- Airfare
“A writer’s retreat is an investment in your career, as well as an opportunity to get away.”—Farrah Daniel The Write Life
The Writing Workshop and Retreat in Italy is the brainchild of Dorina Lantella. She runs cooking and heritage trips to Roseto Valfortore, the town where her father was born.
When Dorina teamed up with Writing Coach Donna Knutson to write about her passion for healing families by bringing them "Back to the Table", the idea to create a writing retreat was born.
Together, Dorina and Donna have designed the perfect recipe for relaxation, adventure, cultural immersion, creativity, and community.
Awaken Your Creativity
Donna Knutson
Donna has 30+ years of experience as a writer, educator, and TV news producer. She has degrees in English and Professional Writing.
After a long career focused on telling other people's stories, she started Write Journeys to give people the guidance, support, and accountability they needed to tell their own stories.
She gets joy in helping people achieve their dreams of becoming published authors.
See all our offers at: writejourneys.com
Email: donna@writejourneys.com
Dorina Lantella
Dorina Lantella has been teaching people to cook since she was in college. Her family ran an Italian restaurant and food was always at the center of her family life.
She's been running cooking and heritage tours to her ancestral hometown of Roseto Valfortore, Italy since 2017.
She is passionate about the healing that can happen when family and community gather around the table.
Learn more about Dorina at dorinaskitchen.com.
Email: dorinaskitchen@gmail.com
Invest in Yourself!
Let us help you reconnect with your power and purpose.
Set up a call and let's talk about how this retreat might serve your dreams and goals.
