“Picture it! Italy.
You walk into Villa Catignano, a quaint thirteenth-century
villa and enter a bygone era where art history comes alive. You stroll
through the miles of spectacular manicured gardens, grape vineyards,
and beautiful countryside that surround the villa. As you relax in the
banquet room, you eat Italian food prepared by the finest chefs and
drink flavorful, aged wine, partaking not only of the food and wine,
but of the savory morsels of old-world ambiance and artistic touches
of the masters of centuries earlier. You can almost feel their presence,
as you look around the villa at the original stenciling, frescoes, trompe
l'oeil, and murals—the magnificent artistic relics you have seen
in books and tried to replicate. You live in one of the quaint apartments
overlooking the gardens and socialize and relax with friends in the
courtyard outside.
Standing outside next to the huge concrete wheels
that once smashed olives into oil, you feel the presence of the farmers
who once grew olive trees and made oil. You sense the peasants with
their hunting dogs who once lived in small houses near the villa.
You are experiencing the magnificence of the Tuscany
region of Italy and Villa Catignano on the outskirts of Siena. Siena
is a city completely surrounded by a stone wall where no cars are permitted.
“I felt like I just stepped out of the pages
of a storybook, like I was in another world. All the history I have
studied in art school and all the techniques I have replicated through
faux finishing, I was seeing in real life. It was amazing.” This
is how Alyson Smith described the experience. Alyson, along with twenty-nine
other students and teachers participated in a faux finishing course/tour
in Siena September 30 through October 12, 2005.
“Under the Tuscany Sun,” the course/tour
sponsored by Faux Courses International, lived up to its name—shining
with the brilliance of the sun and the warmth of the many people involved.
Under the direction of Susie Goldenberg of Paintin’ the Town Faux
and Gary Lord of Prismatic Painting Studio, the group spent twelve days
touring the region and living in and painting several rooms in the villa.
Susie says, “It was a dream come true, and
the birth of Faux Courses International,” which will continue
the annual course/tour.
From the breathtaking view of the grounds and
gardens to the quaint interior and exterior of this magnificent artistic
masterpiece, the villa is a luscious feast for a faux finisher hungry
for its old-world ambiance. Almost every ceiling, wall, and floor features
beautiful, original frescos, trompe l’oeil paintings, and elaborate
murals.
The villa was built in the thirteenth century.
After Spanish soldiers destroyed most of the villa in the 1400’s,
it was restored and enlarged between 1500 and 1700, maintaining the
original structure as much as possible.
The villa, originally six hundred acres, was first
owned by a high priest in the Vatican, Lodovico Sergardi. Run like a
small town, it was home to twenty-one farmers and many horses. Now covering
50,000 square feet, the villa rests on sixty acres of land,
The present owner, Lodovico Sergardi, named after
his ancestor, grew up in the villa and later inherited it. The villa
has been in the possession of his family since the fifteenth century.
He remembers that during his childhood many servants were also housed
on the grounds. His family also owns a castle in Siena, and other properties
that his brother and sister have inherited.
Lodovico, his wife Laura, and their daughter Sofia,
run the villa and provide a warm, family atmosphere.
The villa has seven apartments, each sleeping
four to six people, with full kitchens and furnished with elegant antique
furniture. Twenty-three additional apartments in the Frattoria section
of the villa each sleep two to three people.
Students and instructors spent the first two days
painting sample boards of techniques that would then be painted by smaller
groups on the walls of three apartments and the “Wedding Room”
in the villa. The participant’s spare time was spent relaxing,
shopping, sightseeing, and touring Italy.
The course instructors represented a wide range
of decorative arts, from stenciling to painting murals. Instructors
included Susie Goldenberg, Gary Lord, Melanie Royals of Royal Design
Studio, and Pam and Dave Schmidt of PJD Creations. In addition to these
instructors, participants included Alyson Smith of Paintin' the Town
Faux, Jane Koehler and Jodie Baldanza of Faux Effects, Debbie Deutsch,
Lori Franklin, Peggy Keeter, Leslie McDavid, Elisabetta Rebuffi, Rebecca
Roth, Leslie Shannon, Lisa Jane Chubb, Jeannine Dostal, DeAnn Maurer,
Maria Medeles, Joann and Dale Romano, Casey Williams, Wendie Croston,
Elizabeth Fortino, Rebecca Hotop, Nancy LeLoup, Judie Noffsinger, Veneda
Rooks, and John Spisak. Those who participated attained international
certification.
Susie taught a Venetian plaster finish using Faux
Effects® Venetian Gem. Melanie taught crewel embroidered linen using
her Modello designs and Faux Effects® Plastertex™ and Aqua
Wax™. Pam taught a Veneziano finish using Faux Effects™
Veneziano™. Dave and Gary taught mural elements.
The groups led by Susie, Melanie, and Pam painted
bedrooms in the Frattoria section. Dave’s group transformed the
entire wedding suite of one of the apartments into an Italian landscape,
mimicking a fresco already in the villa, making it a romantic experience
for newly married couples who will occupy it.
In the large banquet room, also called the “Wedding
Room,” Gary and his crew created a beautiful finish using Faux
Effects® Aqua Stone™. As each group finished its respective
room, everyone helped stencil many huge arches with a custom design
requested by the owners and cut by Royal Design Studio. The Wedding
Room, once a wine cellar, is now used as a banquet hall for weddings
and other festive occasions. The room is approximately fifty by thirty
feet with a fifteen-foot high ceiling and walls featuring large arches
inset with stone.
The villa also houses the original chapel, also
built in the thirteenth century, with magnificent architecture, carvings,
and niches. Sofia and her husband were recently married in the chapel,
as were Sofia’s parents many years ago. Following the wedding,
the Wedding Room came alive with guests enjoying an elaborate reception
there, with the faux finishes the group created as the perfect romantic
backdrop.
The Sergardis were so happy with the faux finished
rooms, they asked the group to return this year and paint more rooms.
Thus, “Under the Tuscany Sun II” was born. Faux Courses
International and Paintin’ the Town Faux will present another
course/tour this year to the same villa September 29 through October
11.
This year’s course will feature workshops
using textures, painting an old-world Renaissance mural, and more; these
techniques will then be painted in the rooms. An added feature this
year will be an Italian cooking class in Siena. The group will tour
by coach bus Florence, Pisa (Leaning Tower of Pisa), Lucca Cortona (the
site where the movie, “Under the Tuscany Sun,” was filmed),
Siena, and more. Susie says she plans to continue the yearly tradition
doing a course/tour each year to a different European country.
For information on this second Italy course/tour
and to attain international certification, call Paintin’ the Town
Faux, 770-641-7641 (Atlanta area) or 1-800-549-0414 (toll-free), email
info@paintinthetown.com, or check their website – www.paintinthetown.com.