Three creative breaks in idyllic Italian settings

Folk songs in Abruzzo A Mercury-nominated folk band who have collaborated with Sting, Orbital and Portishead, among others, The Unthanks are “a pretty big deal”. So for an amateur, joining them in a 15-person choir is a thrill, says Gary Cansell in The Sunday Times – especially in the beautiful, “flower-strewn” hills of Abruzzo. No experience is needed to take part in one of the four-day singing courses they run in the fortified hill town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio. There are just three hours of rehearsal a day, yet even the least talented of vocalists will be ready to take part in a public performance on the final evening, singing folk songs from around Britain in a local wine bar lit with oil lamps. The sisters at the heart of the group, Rachel and Becky Unthank, “throw themselves into everything” – including communal cooking, yoga classes and country walks. Accommodation is simple but “romantic”, and rehearsals take place in 16th century rooms and medieval churches, whose glorious acoustics add to the extraordinary emotional release that singing this music brings. From £1,590pp for five nights, excluding flights (0845-642 0710, www.singingholidays.com). Culinary adventures in the Aeolian islands Laura Panico’s cooking holidays in the Aeolian archipelago are a wonderful treat for foodies, says Jeremy Head in The Guardian. Panico, whose family has a house on Vulcano – one of the larger islands in this starkly beautiful volcanic chain off the north coast of Sicily – takes visitors to a friend’s trattoria in the hills nearby. Its owners, Angelo and Rosi, learned to cook from Angelo’s mother, Maria Tindara, and it is her methods they impart to guests. You’ll learn how to make narrow macaroni tubes using an old umbrella spoke, and go fishing for totani – flying squid – in the family boat. Recipes include beef stuffed with breadcrumbs, capers and cheese, and “tangy” lemon tarts. There’s plenty of guided travel to other islands too, including visits to a goat farm that produces “gorgeous” ricotta cheese, and to a vineyard on nearby Salina, where you can taste some excellent local wines (served with snacks including figs, frittatas, capers and tomato marmalade). £2,265pp for a week, including everything except flights (07704-136539, www.aeolianadventures.co.uk). Painting in Umbria A week spent painting or drawing can leave you with “a renewed sense of self”. Do it under the auspices of Painting in Italy, and you’ll also learn a lot and have a great holiday too, says Nigel Richardson in The Daily Telegraph. Based in Tuscany, this company offers good accommodation, such as La Ghirlanda, a former hunting lodge in Umbria whose gardens are so “picture perfect”, you half expect to come across Helena Bonham Carter’s Lucy Honeychurch, from A Room with a View. Also excellent are its tutors, including Fiona Graham-mackay, one of Britain’s foremost portrait painters, who is “inspiring” and full of useful tips. Days begin with 9am tutorials, followed by painting until lunchtime (or later if you like). There are group trips to explore nearby towns (at La Ghirlanda, that’s Perugia, Montefalco and Bevagna) and study Renaissance art. And the food, all made with local ingredients, is “top-notch”. Indeed, the Umbrian holidays are run alongside cookery courses, whose students rustle up a feast for everyone on the final night.

From £1,599pp for a week, excluding flights (0808-118 5729, www.paintinginitaly.com).