Write it in Italy

One new idea for every day in 2011. We’re talking big, small, local, international, in action and on the drawing board. Here’s today’s — what’s yours?

Grazie a dio, Julie Hampton‘s done it again.

The Phoenix-based artist and co-owner of Downtown’s a.ware just listed a second opportunity for local creatives to get out of the country and create … in an Italian atmosphere.

Hampton purchased Casa di Julie (formerly the Rosenclaire House) through rental subscriptions and runs artist-led workshops during the summer. Her latest venture, Porta Blu, is for the writers.

The 400-year-old, one bedroom, one bathroom stone cottage is in the heart of Vitiana, a mountain village in Tuscany’s Gargagnana region of Italy. It’s a quiet spot, Hampton writes; a perfect writer’s retreat.

And it can be yours — April through October — for a week’s (or more) worth of great writing/painting/crafting/whatever.

Porta Blu is meters away from Casa di Julie (Hampton’s first investment), a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with space for workshops or a family getaway.

Hampton says the offer — two weeks and a bonus week if reserved and paid for by May 21 — ends September 2011.

For more information, specific dates and quotes, and reservations, see the Porta Blu and Casa di Julie website or email her at julie@onerevolvingdoor.com.

Bonus: Hampton’s leaving later this month for Italy and hitting the highway for a road trip this summer, so she’s hosting a summer kickoff tonight at a.ware with new ceramic birds and owls by Sherrie Zeitlin, earring by Jenna Harden and bags by Highway.

(Word is, if you say “put a bird on it,” the a.ware girls will give you 20 percent off of your entire purchase today and tomorrow.)

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