All year round Photo Holidays, workshops and excursions in Umbria, Italy

Camera Etrusca takes its name from the Etruscans who lived in Central Italy from 900 BC. They usually built their cities on the high ground between two ravines or on the shores of lakes. Many of their towns are still inhabited today and those who participate on our photography course will be stunned by their imposing positions and evocative beauty.

We offer an adventurous photography holiday but with all the comforts! The accommodation is first class, we shall wine you and dine you, we'll get you comfortably over the most rugged terrain and take you to places that you would never be able to find on your own and all this with your tutor close at hand to encourage and advise you. Our Land Rover will get you to places you'd be hard pressed to find even on foot.This is a landscape where almost every civilization has left its mark: Roman ruins, Etruscan temples, mediaeval castles………If it all gets too much there's always the lake to jump in.

One Day Workshops: already in Italy and fancy doing a one or two day workshop? No problem. Workshop starts 8.30 with meeting over breakfast then it’s off to Lake Bolsena or Bagnoregio - picnic lunch out, back to Orvieto in time for dinner. You can learn and see a lot in a day. Off the road and off the beaten track - it’s an intense experience. Price: one person only €250 per day or €200 for more than one person. Accommodation not included in one day workshops.

Patrick Nicholas, founder of Camera Etrusca graduated in Photographic Arts in 1977 in London. He works as an advertising and portrait photographer in Italy where he has lived since 1985. He has held many one-man exhibitions not only in Italy but elsewhere in Europe, the US and Australia over the years. Visit his website www.photonicholas.com

Workshops start Friday all year round. The exception is May for the Barabbata workshop because the festival always falls on 14 May. However if these dates don’t fit with your holiday plans we also organise impromptu workshops so just get in touch and say when you want to come. Included in price is: accommodation, breakfast, simple lunch (with wine), daily excursions by Land Rover, tuition, use of computer (we do recommend you bring your laptop if you have one), printer, first and last night’s dinner (first night only for short break).

Accommodation is included in the base price and is in bed and breakfast in the historic centre of Orvieto. We usually use the Soffitta, an attractive flat with six spacious attic rooms in Piazza del Popolo in the heart of Orvieto. It has antique beams, terracotta floors and en-suite bathrooms in every room.

If you are coming with a non-photographing partner or if you just prefer to stay in a 3 or 4 star hotel please let us know. We can recommend a variety of hotels and agriturismos in and around Orvieto: with pool, spa/wellness centre with sauna, yoga, and more.

Camera Etrusca is based in a little known part of Italy on the shores of Lake Bolsena where three regions meet: Tuscany, Latium and Umbria - the land known to the Romans as Etruria. Specifically we are in the ancient city of Orvieto in Umbria. Course leader Patrick Nicholas has his photo gallery in the same street as the bed and breakfast we tend to use.

Orvieto, perched on a volcanic rock, is known the world over for its fine wine, but it is also deservedly famous for its wonderful restaurants. Orvieto is mainly pedestrianised and is a delight to amble round. It boasts fine shops, delightful street cafés, cocktail bars as well as street theatre, concerts and dance festivals in the summer months. The BBC Teach Yourself Italian course was filmed in Orvieto and Rick Steve’s Guide to Italy singles Orvieto out as a special place.

Transfers and Transport * A pick up from Orvieto train station with a transfer to your B&B/hotel is included in the price * Orvieto can be reached from Rome Termini central station in 55 minutes by train, trains run hourly during the day