WD Italian Writing Retreat: Behind the Itinerary
Learn more about the itinerary and reasoning behind the sights on the WD Writing Retreat to Italy, now slated for May 2025.
[This post has been updated to reflect the itinerary for the May 2025 WD retreat to Italy.]
In my blog post announcing the Writer’s Digest Writing Retreat to Florence and the Tuscan countryside, I mentioned that writers throughout history have found inspiration from their time in the region. Because I so quickly fell in love with Florence, I’ve spent a lot of time reading books that take place in Florence and that are inspired by the sights there. It was reading about those specific places that informed what I made sure to visit, and subsequently what inspired the itinerary for this retreat. Here I’ll share some photos I took for my own writing reference and the reasoning behind the places we’ll see.
Day 2 – Our first full day. We begin with a city walk before going to any museums, because when you come to a place like Florence, it’s practically impossible to not want to see a few key sights right away, like the famed Duomo. Besides, walking is a tried-and-true way to get the creative juices flowing, plus we want you to get your bearings from the get go. This walk will include a trip across the Ponte Santa Trinita, a bridge where each of the four corners has a statue depicting each season. These statues form a core part of Mary McCarthy’s Stones of Florence, a quintessential collection of essays about the post-war years in Florence.
In the afternoon, we’ll head to the Palazzo Pitti, where we’ll visit the Palatine Galleries, which contain an overwhelming number of paintings and statues that are begging for stories to be written about them. From people whose stories could be imagined, to additional retellings of myths, to stories about how the enormous rooms and hallways were used during World War II, the possibilities for writers are endless.
[Interested in joining the WD Writing Retreat to Florence & Tuscany? Click here for more information.]
Behind the Palazzo Pitti is the equally huge and equally stunning Boboli Garden. Whether you want to people watch—and there is plenty of that to be done here—or spend some quiet time on a bench hidden away by a pond with turtles and orange trees, this garden is big enough for it all. The July/August 2024 issue of Writer’s Digest is all about writing inspired by nature, and this garden is part of the inspiration behind the issue. We’ll have a guided tour together, but there will also be plenty of time for wandering off to write on your own.
Day 3 – On our second full day, we’ll walk to the Piazza della Signoria. There are a few specific markers in this piazza that writers and artists (really, all creative types) will appreciate that we’ll see before touring the Palazzo Vecchio. What’s so great about the Palazzo Vecchio is that it was once the city’s municipal building and it was also the Medici family home, so the rooms range from large halls where city events took place (and still do) to bedrooms and closets of the family. After reading Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait, much of which takes place in the Palazzo Vecchio, one wonders: What other secrets and stories is this building holding?
Florence is home to an abundance of cathedrals and, if we’re being honest, some are more interesting than others. For creative people, Santa Croce is top of the list, and that's where we'll head after lunch. A statue of Dante Alighieri watches the front entrance because inside are the final resting places and/or memorials to numerous Florentine writers, artists, scholars, inventors, builders … the list goes on. It’s also a place where so much recent history has happened—namely, the flood of November 1966. It’s still a part of recent memory, with markers indicating how shockingly high the waters rose and damages paintings still being restored. Visiting Santa Croce was inspired by Sarah Winman’s brilliant novel Still Life which captures the spirit and resilience of Florence and brought me to tears.
Back across the Arno River, we’ll visit Casa Guidi, the home of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning. It’s a bit like stepping back in time, when you enter their apartments, with their writing desks and couches. Next door, the church has the first lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “Casa Guidi Windows” etched into the stone. Their home—just a stone’s throw away from the Palazzo Pitti—offers a wonderful respite from the crowds. When I visited, I was the only guest and received a private tour of the rooms, and I could imagine Flush, the Browning’s dog running around as described in Virginia Woolf’s biography of the dog, Flush.
Day 4 – We’ll begin the day just around the corner from Santa Croce at the National Central Library of Florence, the largest library in Italy. Each time I visit Tuscany, I always make sure I see at least one or two new-to-me places or sights. I love seeing my favorite places again, because somehow they never stop being beautiful or inspiring, but seeing new places makes each trip worth the visit. The Library will be my new place this go-round, and I can’t wait to experience it with you!
After lunch, we'll see the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most astounding collections of art in the world. No matter how many times you visit, you’ll never be able to take it all in, partially because the collection is so huge, but also because the building itself is a work of art—the ceilings, the hallways, even some of the rooms. And while there are some must-see paintings like Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” and “Primavera,” there are also some delightfully bizarre paintings like these, below. I can only imagine the kinds of stories that can be told (or reimagined) about them!
And these are just the places we'll visit in Florence! After taking in all this, we'll head to the countryside just outside of the hill town of San Gigminano for two and a half days of dedicated writing time. It's a trip you won't want to miss!
About Amy Jones
Amy Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest and was the managing content director for WD Books. She is the editor of the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market and Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market. Prior to joining the WD team, Amy was the managing editor for North Light Books and IMPACT Books. Like most WD staffers, Amy is a voracious reader and has a particular interest in literary fiction, historical fiction, steamy romance, and page-turning mysteries. When she’s not reading, Amy can be found daydreaming about Italy or volunteering at her local no-kill cat shelter. Find Amy on Twitter @AmyMJones_5.
