From Alto Adige to Abruzzo, six stays immersed in nature for a study retreat between silence, work, study and breaks away from distractions.
September has a strange ability to put everything back in motion. Schools are back, universities are starting up again, inboxes are filling up, diaries are starting to look like a mess again and, after the summer break, even concentrating for a few hours suddenly seems more difficult. This is perhaps why, alongside the traditional holiday, a different way of leaving is taking shape: not to completely interrupt work or study, but to take them elsewhere.
The study retreat was born precisely from this need, that of moving for a few days to a place capable of eliminating at least part of the daily noise, alternating hours of concentration with walks, nature and silence. Airbnb has selected six Italian stays that interpret this formula, from the mountains of Alto Adige to the villages of Abruzzo, passing through Liguria, Trentino and Umbria. Not necessarily remote or unconnected destinations, therefore, but places where the landscape can become part of the study or work routine.
South Tyrol, studying with the mountains outside the window
TO Naturnsamong the alpine landscapes of Alto Adige, Villa Shangrila is thought of in the Airbnb material as an ideal starting point for a break dedicated to concentration. The formula is simple: hours of study interspersed with paths, woods and walks, with the quiet of the mountains replacing traffic, notifications and urban noise.
It is probably the most immediate image of the study retreat: not locking yourself in a room for days, but building a day in which studying remains central without taking up every minute, letting a walk or a few hours outdoors become part of the method, and not a distraction.
In Sestri Levante, between the studio and Baia del Silenzio
The second address leads to Liguriaa few minutes from the Baia del Silenzio of Sestri Levante. La Jolie Maison offers bright environments and a terrace surrounded by greenery, while outside there is the sea, panoramic views and villages in which to interrupt the routine in front of the computer for a few hours.
Here the contrast is almost perfect: on the one hand a cozy place in which to work or prepare for an exam, on the other one of the Italian coastal towns whose very name seems to suggest a respite from daily overstimulation.
In Trentino, near the Sentiero del Silenzio
On the heights of BowCasa al Castagneto is located among chestnut and beech trees, a short distance from the Sentiero del Silenzio, a path immersed in Trentino nature linked to contemplation and listening.
The living room has, according to the selection, outdoor spaces and fast connection, a feature that is anything but secondary for those who want to transform a few days away from the city into a real study or work break, while Lake Garda and the surrounding paths offer the alternative when the time comes to close the laptop.
And it is perhaps precisely here that the idea of the classic “retreat” changes: not total isolation and no technology, but the possibility of using it when needed and abandoning it when it is no longer needed.
Umbria, the slow pace of the countryside
In UmbriaIl Casaletto is surrounded by olive trees and the rural landscape of the green heart of Italy. The hours dedicated to study can be alternated with outdoor spaces and the swimming pool, while in the surrounding area there are the Marmore Falls, Lake Piediluco and several villages.
It is a solution that interprets the study retreat in its version closest to a stay in the countryside: little stimulation, lots of space, a slower pace and the possibility of building days that don’t have the sofa at home as the only alternative to work.
In the Adamello Brenta, an ancient barn in the woods
The more decidedly mountainous it is Maso Azzurroobtained from an ancient seventeenth-century barn in the Adamello Brenta Natural Park. Woods, paths, panoramic terraces and outdoor spaces here become the setting in which to alternate reading, study and moments of pause.
It is also one of the examples that explain why this type of stay can interest a wider audience than just university students: those who work remotely, those who have to close a project, prepare a presentation or simply find a few days without constant interruptions could be looking for exactly the same thing.
Abruzzo, working inside an ancient tower
The latest proposal leads to Teramo hillsoverlooking the Gran Sasso, inside an accommodation created from an ancient medieval tower. Around there are vineyards, olive groves and rural landscape, in a context designed to slow down and alternate hours of concentration with the discovery of the villages of Abruzzo.
It is also probably the most scenic address of the six, because it transforms the study retreat into something that almost resembles a small creative residence: a desk, the Gran Sasso outside, a village to cross when the ideas no longer come.
The real holiday today could be being able to concentrate
There is something very contemporary in the idea of paying to go somewhere and finally being able to do what should be easier at home: read, study, write, work for a few hours without being constantly interrupted.
The study retreat, at least in the form proposed by Airbnb, does not promise absolute digital detox and does not ask to disappear from the world. It does almost the opposite: it allows you to take your computer, books and deadlines with you, but to change everything around it. And perhaps for this very reason it can be more realistic than many escapes built on the idea of completely disconnecting, because it does not require you to stop your life, but simply tries to make it, for a few days, a little more silent.
