Come stay with us at the Casale S. Brigida… YOUR “Clubhouse” in Umbria!
THE TRUTH!: It’s true that the Casale S. Brigida is a breathtakingly gorgeous B-n-B. But it always gives me pause to realize that now it is ALSO (both legally and actually) the “clubhouse” of OUR non-profit arts organization. The founders, team members, collaborators, and sponsors have all DONATED their time and money to the Art Monastery. They invested so deeply because they believe in this project and its ability to change the world. The Casale plays a crucial role in these early years of our “startup”: providing offices and housing for the Italy team and an inspiring haven for our members around the world to visit and interact with us in Umbria.
Thus it means that we cannot and do not “sell” any rooms. As a member of the Italian Associazione Culturale “The Art Monastery Project” (which you probably are if you’re reading this email… but, if not, you can become one by going to the website and sign up:) it truly is YOUR clubhouse. Thus you are actually free to donate whatever you like when you come to visit. The numbers we quote below as “suggested donations” are just that.
However, it ALSO means that if people don’t donate enough (either money or labor), then we will not be able to afford to rent and maintain “our” (and YOU’RE included in that “our”) clubhouse. It would be very difficult for us to find and afford a more compelling place not only to work but also to provide you with the beauty, friendships, inspirations, and transformations that are the norm during people’s time at the Casale S. Brigida.
Ergo, we have proposed two ways for you to come to meet us, experience this beautiful project, and help ensure that it flourishes:
PATRONS: for those who can and do want to help the project financially, we invite you to give a donation (of its actual market value) of 90€ per night or more. We would happily provide you with a premium double room with kitchenette, fireplace, and en suite bath. You are also welcome to buy into some portion of a meal plan prepared by our professional chef and served by our team for a donation of 40€/day for full board (or some fraction thereof if you eat some of your meals elsewhere or prepare them for yourself in your room).
BOHEMIANS: for those for whom money is very tight yet who really just want to get here and experience it, we offer the following suggested donation… which represents what we calculate as the bare minimum to prevent us from actually losing money during your stay. We DO want you to come… and THIS summer is probably the most affordable one ever to visit Italy. The basic levels would be 35€ per night to guarantee you a bed (potentially in a shared double room… if you are a couple, this would provide a private room) at the Casale S. Brigida. You are welcome to prepare your own food or buy into some portion of the chef’s mealplan at cost-of-food only (20€/day), with the expectation that you will help with the cleanup after the meals you eat with us.
WORK EXCHANGE: in addition to these terms, another way to donate to the Art Monastery is by offering your skills and labor in lieu of money. We would be quite content to offer the same terms to Bohemians who would donate only 20 or 25€ per day if they also volunteered to work at whatever task (gardening, food prep, maintenance) that was asked of them for 1-2 hours a day. Other deeper exchanges of work for time at the Casale are also available if you apply ahead of time to info@artmonastery.org .
