About the location
With over 10 years' experience of offering yoga retreats, healing treatments, activities and nature excursions in the heart of Italy, this yoga retreat knows how to deliver a yoga holiday with a difference that will relax, revive and restore you.
Your yoga holiday takes place in the enchanting medieval village of Casperia, just 1 hour north of Rome. As well as offering great yoga holiday, the retreat also offers combined holiday of yoga and watercolour painting, yoga and cycling or yoga and horse riding for adventurous types.
Stay in your choice of rustic accommodation within the walls of the village, all within a few minutes walk from each other and the retreat itself:
Village House: shared bathrooms
There are three Village Houses in total, which all have shared bathrooms and twin/double rooms. There are 2 twin rooms which have private ensuite bathrooms and carry a supplement. You will share a bathroom with up to 2 other rooms. It is a traditional medieval village house decorated in a very traditional Italian style. There are shared kitchens. You can share a room with one other guest of the same gender and have a shared bathroom, or book a private room with a shared or private bathroom for sole occupancy for a single supplement.
Forani Palace: shared bathrooms and private ensuites
Forani Palace has two levels with rooms either in the main house or the turret and there are a total of 6 twin rooms, 4 each with en-suite bathroom and lovely views over the village. Solo travellers must pay a compulsory single supplement for a private room with private bathroom. Forani Palace is a renovated Italian palazzo set in its own grounds and gardens in Casperia which formerly belonged to the Count and Countess of Casperia. There is also a communal lounge and the house is decorated in the class 'Italianete' style with the antiques and decor of a noble family home. There are also shared bathrooms available for a small discount.
Casa Latini: private ensuites
Casa Latini has private bathrooms and compulsory single supplements for solo travellers. There are two levels, each level has a twin-bedroom, private lounge and en-suite luxury bathroom. There is also a small single loft room en-suite with skylights and another small twin loft room en-suite with skylights and panoramic views. There are no single supplements for the single loft room but please note the loft rooms have limited headroom can get hot in the summer. Casa Latini is a lovely 13th century building furnished in boutique-style with a Latin and Eastern influence. A spiral staircase on each level leads to the terrace area, where you can enjoy the spectacular panoramic views over Casperia, and there is also a communal lounge and dining area with a kitchen for self-catering. There is also a small sauna room which costs 10 Euros per session.
Casperia is a magical medieval village built on the top of the Sabina Mountains, surrounded by valleys and distant mountains, lush green fields and tiny farm houses. The fresh crisp air is scented with open fires burning and wood-fired pizzas and offers a time-stands-still ambience.
Home to just 350 locals, the walled village is free of cars and cobbled streets spill charm and character onto the narrow pavements.
Run by Lucy, a Hatha yoga teacher and her Italian husband Alan, a local of Casperia, this yoga retreat supports the rural community of the Sabina Hills bringing tourism, creating jobs, and supporting local businesses to enhance the village economy.
Eco-tourism is at the forefront of Lucy and Alan’s vision for the retreat and they work in harmony with locals supporting organic methods of farming, protecting local fauna and flora. They are also embarking on a project to renovate a 13th century building close to the village to make it completely ‘off-grid’, relying on photovoltaic panels for electricity, solar panels for heating and on water recycling schemes.
Practice yoga daily, enjoy a healthy and delicious breakfast of locally produced food and take the rest of the day to relax, enjoy a holistic treatment or explore the beautiful surroundings.
Practice yoga outdoors on the purpose built platform which is located in an oasis of green inside the village walls, a beautiful and serene environment, with dappled sunlight and the sound of birdsong all around.
Or, practice indoors in the professionally designed and restored 40 square metre studio, which has a wooden floor, heating, a fresh water spring and an ancient cave as a bathroom.
There is an off-site outdoor private swimming pool available exclusively for guests just a 10 minute walk from the yoga retreat or a short cycle ride away, set in the Casperia countryside surrounded by olive groves and rolling hills. The pool is open from May-October (weather permitting) and there is a small entrance fee to use the gorgeous swimming pool.
You can enjoy swimming all year round in the thermal baths and hot springs at Viterbo, where you can bathe in the sulphur-rich organic mud used in rehabilitative treatments, beauty masks and wraps. The retreat run excursions (for an extra cost) to the springs where you can relax, unwind and feel the tension, toxins, aches and pains being released from your body.
Features
- Just 1 hour north of Rome by train
- Stay in a beautiful pedestrianised medieval village
- Friendly locals, keen to share Italian life with visitors
- Daily yoga classes
- A wide range of optional activities in the area (additional cost) including walking, language classes, trekking, horse riding, watercolour painting and cycling
- Indoor purpose built studio with fresh water spring
- Outdoor platform for practicing yoga outside when the weather permits
- Eco-friendly retreat
- English and Italian speaking hosts with a wealth of knowledge about the local area
- Surrounded by fields of sunflowers
- A full range of holistic treatments on offer including Reiki, crystal therapy, reflexology, Chakra balancing, Bach remedies and more available to book for an extra cost (ranging from 30 - 100 Euros)
- A range of spa treatments including massages, facials, body wraps, sauna can be booked for an extra cost during your stay
- Visit the nearby hot springs and thermal baths
- Sightseeing visits arranged of Rome and the surrounding villages and towns (extra cost)
- Transport to local restaurants in the evenings for a small charge
- Delicious local organic food including cow, sheep and goats cheeses, and delicious organic ice creams
- The Sabina olive oil is amongst Italy's finest
- Fantastic local wine called EST! EST! EST! of Monte Fiascone
- Casperia offers a good choice of great restaurants in which to sample the local produce
- Free guided walk of the Sabina mountains on Sundays
- The drinking water in Casperia comes from pure mountain springs
- Extra yoga lessons are available and can be added locally from around 10 Euros per lesson per person and take place on Friday, Monday and Tuesday afternoons
- You can also add on a 2 hour yoga workshop for around 20 Euros on Saturday afternoons during your stay
- Entrance to a beautiful swimming pool 10 minutes away (extra cost of 10 Euros per day and open May-Oct subject to weather conditions) or an excursion to local outdoor thermal spas are offered for an additional charge if you're looking to relax and cool down
-Wi-fi is available in the breakfast area, cafes and treatment area, but not in bedrooms