Civitella is a residency program for international writers, composers, and visual artists. Since 1995, Civitella has hosted more than 1,000 Fellows and Director’s Guests. The Center enables its Fellows to pursue their work and to exchange ideas in a unique and inspiring setting.
“Every once in a while, if you are lucky, you get to experience a place so beautiful that you get an overwhelming sense that the creativity of the universe, of nature, is more splendid than anything anyone could have imagined. This is home. A place in time, remembered with those with whom you shared it. Such is, and will be, Civitella, my Civitella.”
Civitella Ranieri is an international residency program bringing together visual artists, writers, and composers to work independently and communally without judgment or interruption.
-Peaceful environment and welcoming culture
-Supportive and generous exchange of ideas
-Inclusion of all cultures, histories, and identities
-Authentic, healthy, regional food
Located in the upper Tiber valley of Umbria, Civitella Ranieri is lodged in a 15th century Castle – a fortress that provided protection, sustenance, and renewal to generations of the Ranieri family and its extended community in the nearby Umbertide. Our founder, Ursula Corning, continued that legacy by providing guests from around the world both solitude and community in a strikingly simple and beautiful environment. The focus at Civitella is on work and conversation that transcend disciplines, cultures, and geography in an intimate and welcoming setting.
Another video about Civitella Ranieri can be found on the Mission & History page of this website as well as on our Youtube Channel.
“Civitella Ranieri is an exquisite place to work. There is a grand feeling here of care-taking that is rare and stupendous and lucky. My weeks there were some of the most productive of my life. And also, some of the most pleasurable…”
Civitella Ranieri Fellowships are awarded through a careful nomination and jury process by a rotating group of distinguished artists, academics, and critics that ensures access to a highly diverse group of accomplished emerging and established candidates from around the world. Upon selection, Fellows are invited to spend six weeks between May and October at the castle. Each session brings together 12-15 Fellows and Director’s Guests. Travel, lodging, and meals are provided.
Join us for Winter Session
Learn more about Winter Session and the opportunity for you to stay in the Castle each November through April.
News/Events
We invite you to celebrate our Fellows by joining us at any of our events.
“There is no place that takes such good care of its Guests and Fellows as Civitella Ranieri does; no place that offers so much and demands so little in return. There is no place that I know of where such a profound relief from the cares and distractions of daily life are possible and where work, even one’s best work, can be done, with pleasure and without interruption.”
Each session at Civitella brings together accomplished international artists, writers, and composers at emerging and established moments in their careers.
Emerging talent, mid-career Fellows, and senior, established professionals are all sought to round out the community of any given group. Below is a representative sampling of past Fellows.
“At Civitella I worked hard, laughed hard, and was consistently amazed- by the beauty of the landscape in which we lived, the food we ate, and the art we visited, by the talent and intelligence of my fellow residents, and the effort and care that the Civitella staff exerted to feed me, teach me, and think of everything I might need so I could think only of my work.”
Located just outside the small city of Umbertide, the Ranieri castle is one of the best-preserved castles in Umbria.
Give Back, Give Access: Directly Support Future Fellows Today
The Fellows’ Fund was established by former Fellows and Director’s Guests to cover educational excursions, materials and equipment, fees (for visas, insurance, healthcare), emergency travel, and other unforeseen expenses that can arise for Fellows before and...
An Update from Civitella Concerning our NEA Funding
On May 2nd, Civitella, alongside many of our peer organizations, was notified that our $30,000 2025 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, “to support an artist-in-residence program for U.S. visual artists in the Umbria region of Italy,” had been rescinded....