House of Schools

House Belsito is the name of a social cultural organization, celebrating the often forgotten knowledge of the local. As the name already suggests, it all started with 'a House on a Fine Place; therefore called Belsito, and the views are truly spectacular. This house is available to us all. House Belsito has in fact several roles. In this text we prefer to focus on the role as a so called House of Schools, where mainly students can disconnect in order to be able to connect to the local and where they can for instance be confronted with the layered histories of the ancient city of Arpino.

What we offer

Schools from all over the world and from all areas of expertise are welcome to experience the monastic qualities of House Belsito, complemented with the vibrant village life of Arpino.

As organizers we enjoy to give free range in how to make use of the venue and of course in how to program your stay. Exciting study trips can be made to the surrounding landscape of hills, mountains and meadows, olive groves, local farms, medieval towns and monastries, and of course to the eternal capital of the ancient world; Rome and to the Greek city of Neopolis or Naples with its daunting shadow of the vulcano Vesuvius looming in the distance. Both Rome and Naples are by car about an 1.5 hour away from Arpino.

House Belsito can also give suggestions for a possible program and especially when you like to make use of local connections, there is a whole network of local collaborators available. And we can definitely support you organizing different hands-on activities, walking tours, visits to sites of interest, local museums, attending festivals.*

The Venue

House Belsito has one rather large room on the ground floor, which can be used for a variety of functions; it is equiped with a library and individual work stations and it can also function as a collective workspace. House Belsito can host exhibitions and presentations, meetings, discussions and workshops. And not to forget food-events or dance-parties.

Adjacent and enveloping the complete ground floor is an outdoor area suspended over the valley, that extends the ground-floor into the wide open. Also located on the ground floor is a kitchen and dining area, fitted out for preparing and enjoying meals, drinks and snacks for groups in different sizes. Next to the kitchen is a big terrace and the entrance to a secluded sunken garden, with herbs, walnut and olive trees and regional plants. And there is a workshop space with an enormous table. On the first floor there are a number of small guestrooms, each with their own bathroom, with possible single and double occupation; most of them with a balcony overlooking the valley and city of Arpino, while some are overlooking our small and cosy street.

Budget

House Belsito is legally an Associazione and one can participate in or visit an event by becoming a member for a modest fee, which for most users will be included in the total fee. For workshop groups and student groups, we ask these members so called donations for using the facilities (including wifi, heating, hot and cold water, sheets and towels, kitchen equipment) and for our possible help in programming your stay. The total up-keep of the venue is dependent on these donations.

An estimation of the donation for a stay of one week with a group of say sixteen people including our assistance and the memberships is around 5000 euro, while the possible costs of our close collaborators* is currently between 150 euro and 300 euro for a half-day.

Getting there/here - see also Contact

Arpino lies in the province of Frosinone and is located close to the Abruzze Mountains. You can reach Arpino by train, bus and car, (and of course by bike or on foot). Travel time from either Naples or Rome is around 1.5 hours by car; bus and train take more time, since you will have to change trains or buses along the way. Be aware of the different departure time schedules for weekdays, sundays and holidays. Other cities close to Arpino with a bus and/or train connection are Frosinone, Sora and Roccasecca, while you can of course fly in from Rome or Naples.

*House Belsito, being a true believer in the power of networks, collaborates closely with Bacco di Bosco of Camilla Linnaks Passani and with visual artist Yeb Wiersma and cultural entrepreneur Maria Mastroianni. A more extensive list of partners can of course be shared when necessary.

Farmer & land-steward Camilla Linnaks Passani

Independent / Owner Bacco del Bosco · from dec. 2022 · based in Fontana Liri, close to Arpino. She and her team are regenerating a total of 16Ha of land in the heart of the Appenini mountains. Implementing almost forgotten pastoral systems in a mixture of olive, fruit and nut orchards, while promoting native, ancient breeds of plants and animals. Linnaks Passani is a great listener, presenter and communicator, naturally assuming and gravitating towards a facilitator role within in/external group dynamics. To us she represents a complimentary partner and this farm is a great place for experimentation, while the functionalistic environment of House Belsito tends to stimulate reflection. And happily she is also an avid foodie with personal interests in food preservation techniques (jams, chutnies, fermentation). She is a true forest wanderer and a grateful gardener.

Visual artist Yeb Wiersma

The practice of Yeb Wiersma—embracing multimedia, olfaction, writing, education, and curation—draws inspiration from ecofeminism, archival collections, folklore, botany, and daily life, examining what it means to be human and to thrive in this world. Who is allowed to flourish, and why? What forces shape our bodies and souls as we navigate an era defined by artificial intelligence, overstimulation, and ecological loss? How do we nurture our connections—to one another and to the land of which we are a part? These questions lie at the heart of her practice, opening space to imagine a more intimate, reciprocal bond between us, all sentient beings, and Earth.

Cultural entrepreneur Maria Mastroianni

Maria can truly be called a cultural entrepreneur. Next to her involvement in a diversity of projects which is typical to her practice, she also operates as a tour guide and a translator (Italian- English) and we like to be part of all these practices. She is born and bred in Arpino and a true historian, which sometimes makes it difficult for us to mystify even a little. You could call her an opener of diverse and many times marginalized fields of knowledge.