Arts & Culture
Essential for human flourishing, arts and culture contribute significantly to one’s personal growth and well-being. At the Medici Way, we commit ourselves to providing uniquely curated means to engage critical thinking while fostering a shared appreciation for European cultural heritage.
Upcoming Journeys
Sacred Spaces Art Retreat
Tuscany
September 28- October 3, 2026
Between the earth and the sky, built spaces in which we dwell serve a function, but also can take on significance related to our very essence as human beings.
During our week together in Tuscany we will explore the shadowy mysteries of centuries —even millennia— of architecture. We’ll spend time responding on site in the monumental sacred spaces of Tuscany with dry and wet media.
Using watercolors and water-soluble graphite drawing, we will pursue the weight, textures and weathered permanence of stone and seek to capture the rhythms of light and shadow of passageways and the fleeting passage of time. We'll draw inspiration from our daily excursions to Medieval hilltowns, country churches and chapels that are off the tourist path.
Additional Details
Occupancy: This journey is limited to 8 participants.
Cost per person (USD): A $500 deposit reserves your spot!
$2,950 (double with shared bath)
$3,300 (double with ensuite bath)
$3,650 (single with shared bath)
$3,950 (single with ensuite bath)
Cost includes: pre-trip planning, airport group transfers, 5 nights lodging, 12 quality meals, daily excursions, art workshop with instruction, group ground transportation, and all necessary art supplies. Additional pre/post day extensions optional for those who desire extra time to relax and refresh.
Attendees must cover airfare to and from the villa, airport transportation, travel insurance, and any additional meals.
Guest Artist
During the years she spent living and working in Italy for an American study abroad program, Michelle Arnold Paine steeped herself in the Renaissance masters, the rhythms of the Catholic liturgy, and the intimacy and beauty of daily Italian life. After her return from Orvieto, Italy she received a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and went on to earn an MFA from University of New Hampshire.
Michelle’s work as an artist centers around expressing the timeless spaces of European architecture, and the narratives recounted within them. She has exhibited across the US and her paintings have appeared in many publications which seek to explore elements of the divine.
For nearly twenty years she has worked one-on-one with clients to create paintings of the architecture which anchor the significant moments in life: weddings, anniversaries, pilgrimages, homes. In both her exhibition work and her commissioned paintings, she brings her combination of precise rendering and spiritual insight into into the lives of others.
In addition to numerous private collections across the U.S., her paintings can be found in the collection of the Valparaiso University Chapel, Indiana, Rivier College, New Hampshire and Gordon College, Massachusetts. She lives in northwest Ohio with her husband and two daughters and is co-founder of NCVA (Network of Christians in Visual Arts).
Santa Maria della Pieve, Oil on Canvas, 40"w x 60"h, Michelle Arnold Paine
de-Light Artist Retreat
Tuscany
October 5-10, 2026
Humans were created for delight, placed in Eden, a garden whose name means “Delight”. We still live in a world full of beauty and wonder, overflowing from a God who delights in His creation and delights in us, His people.
Focusing on “delight” in any guileless way seems almost offensive to contemporary culture. In a time of great upheaval and heartache, the idea of meditating on and seeking out delight seems out of step. But perhaps this is just what we need, a holy search for the beauty and goodness of our world and the truth that God delights in us. Perhaps this is the antidote for the cynicism and nihilism and despair of our age. Perhaps learning to delight and how to be delighted is one way we can love our neighbor and world better as we love and are loved by God
Additional Details
Scriptural meditation: “I was there, close to the Creator’s side as his master artist. Daily he was filled with delight in me as I playfully rejoiced before him. I laughed and played, so happy with what he had made, while finding my delight in the children of men.”
Proverbs 8:30-31 TPT
Workshop: Mix colors to see the nuance of various intensities and values in color. Look at art and nature to notice the beauty of the nuanced color, textured materials, playful repetition, and movement in composition.
Occupancy: This journey is limited to 8 participants.
Cost per person (USD): A $500 deposit reserves your spot!
$2,950 (double with shared bath)
$3,300 (double with ensuite bath)
$3,650 (single with shared bath)
$3,950 (single with ensuite bath)
Cost includes: pre-trip planning, airport group transfers, 5 nights lodging, 12 quality meals, daily excursions, art workshop with instruction, group ground transportation, and all necessary art supplies. Additional pre/post day extensions optional for those who desire extra time to relax and refresh.
Attendees must cover airfare to and from the villa, airport transportation, travel insurance, and any additional meals or gelato they choose.
Guest Artist
Michelle Berg Radford has been enamored with landscape painting since she discovered the works of the Hudson River School and Vincent Van Gogh as a teenager. Michelle studied landscape painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she earned her MFA in Painting.
Michelle begins her landscapes by spending time getting to know a place through painting on location, hiking, and taking reference photos. Some paintings are completed on location, and others are created in the studio from memory, photos, and sketches. Color and mark-making are key elements in her paintings as she works to capture the spirit of a place while highlighting the beauty of the art materials and composition.
In addition to her painted landscapes, Michelle makes mixed media and assemblage works about motherhood and the richness of weaving together her roles as artist and mother, a combination that once bewildered her, but that has become a deep conceptual framework in her studio practice. Michelle lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband, Paul, and their three teenage children.
Join the Waitlist
These experiences are at capacity. Please contact info@mediciway.com to be added to the waitlist.
Building the Renaissance: an Architectural Experience
Florence, Italy
March 15-21, 2026
This immersive journey will begin with one of Florence’s most important medieval architects Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302) and his crucial role in the shift from Romanesque to Gothic styles. His statuary contributions, especially to the Florentine Cathedral, foreshadowed the grandeur of Renaissance sculpture.
Followed by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446). We’ll examine the architectural genius of Brunelleschi, particularly his revolutionary engineering of the Duomo dome and his revival of classical architectural principles.
Next, we’ll explore the architectural and sculptural works of Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (1396-1472), a key figure in Early Renaissance architecture. We’ll take a close look at his association with the Medici family and his design for the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, a groundbreaking example of Renaissance palace architecture.
Finally, we’ll delve into the theories of art and architecture developed by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), a true Renaissance polymath. We’ll examine his influential writings, his impact on Renaissance architectural principles, and his design for the facade of Santa Maria Novella.
We’ll wrap things up by devoting time to Michelangelo’s (1475 - 1564) artistic production in Florence as a sculptor and architect, especially his ambitious work on the Medici Chapels.
Additional Details
Occupancy: This journey is at capacity. Contact us at info@mediciway.com to be added to the waitlist.
Please note that Florence’s historic center is pedestrian-only. Participants should be comfortable walking long distances (mainly 3-4 miles on flat surfaces) and standing throughout each day.
Cost per person: $3,850 (double occupancy), $4,750 (single occupancy).
Cost includes: pre-trip assistance, 6 nights of lodging in a historically significant building in the heart of Florence, 15 quality meals, daily maid service, entrance tickets, expert tours and lectures, shuttle services, and guided reflection.
Attendees must cover airfare to and from Florence, airport transportation, travel insurance, and any additional meals or gelato they choose.
*Scholarships are available for faculty and nonprofit leaders. Scholarship application requirements can be found at mediciway.com/arts-residencies.
