ACCOMMODATION
The Center offers accommodations in shared rooms with 4-6 beds, with bunk beds, and shared bathrooms (men and women separatly), located on the first floor. There is also a barrier-free room and, in very limited numbers, single/double/triple rooms with and without bathroom. Meals are vegetarian. At the moment, it is not possible to stay in a camper or tent on the grounds of the Center.
WHAT TO BRING
The Center provides pillows and blankets. Guests are asked to bring bedding (we can provide bedding for a small fee) or sleeping bag, towels, slippers. Please bring comfortable clothes and shoes for outside walking in all weather conditions. You may also need a night mask, earplugs, a hat, an umbrella, a fan in summer.
For meditation, we provide cushions, zafutons, chairs and a few benches; guests can bring their own cushion or bench along.
Pets of affection are not allowed in the Center.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
05.30 Wake up
06.00 Meditation
07.00 Mindful movements
08.00 Breakfast
09.15 Community circle
09.30 Working meditation
11.15 Teaching or meditation
13.00 Lunch
15.00 Walking meditation
16.30 Dharma sharing or deep relaxation or other practice
18.30 Dinner
20.00 Meditation, followed by “Noble silence”
REGISTRATION
Guests can register by e-mail, preferable, sending a message to centro@avalokita.it; or by phone at 340.6397190, from 9.30AM to 11AM (closed Tuesdays). Payment details will be communicated upon confirmation of availability.
SCHEDULE
Both for retreats and weekends, guests can arrive between 3PM and 6PM on the first day. All events start at 6.30PM with dinner and end after lunch on the last day.
GETTING HERE
At registration, notify us of where you are coming from, we will do our best to simplify your journey, giving you directions on public transport. If you drive to the Center, we can help you get in touch with other practitioners to carpool with.
By car
1) Drive to exit San Gabriele-Colledara on highway A24.
a) If you drive on highway Adriatica A14, both direction Nord and South, exit at Giulianova. Take the freeway to Teramo, that turns into highway A24 direction l’Aquila-Rome, and exit San Gabriele-Colledara.
b) If you drive on A24 from Rome, after the Gran Sasso tunnel, passed L’Aquila, exit San Gabriele-Colledara.
2) Once exited A24 at San Gabriele-Colledara, follow signs to Isola del Gran Sasso. Drive through the village and exit following the main road. Keep driving until you see a grocery shop on your left. About 100 m after the shop, turn right to Castelli. Drive uphill for about 4 km, then turn right again following signs to Villa Rossi. Drive on a steep uphill to Villa Rossi for about 1 km. On the right, you’ll see the little church. Drive across the village. The Center is the yellow house on the right just outside the village. From the highway exit to the Center the drive is about 11 km.
By public transport
If you come by train, we recommend to travel with Trenitalia or Italo to Roma Tiburtina, then take a bus from the Tiburtina bus station to exit A24 San Gabriele-Colledara. This is the bus stop closest to the Center (about 15 minutes by car). Getting off at the Colledara exit is the quickest way to get here and also the simplest one for the Center to pick you up.
For those coming by plane, the Gaspari bus company offers several daily trips from the two Rome airports to Teramo.
Here are the info on bus companies:
– TUA – Trasporto Unico Abruzzese (tel. 800.762622) offers rides from Roma Tiburtina bus station to highway exit Colledara (on the Roma-Teramo), marked on the site as “Colledara-sp37/c-ingresso A/24”; schedules athttps://tua.mycicero.it/TPWebPortal/
– Gaspari Bus Airport (http://www.gasparionline.it, info@gaspariairport.it, 085.8004868) offers rides to Teramo from the Rome airports Fiumicino (Terminal 3) and Ciampino; Teramo is the regular stop, however if you ask the bus drived before leaving, if conditions allow so, the bus might stop at the Colledara exit.
– Baltour Ciarrocchi (http://www.baltour.it, tel. 0861.554889) rides to Val Vomano bus stop from Rome (Tiburtina bus station) as well as from Bellinzona-Lugano-Milano-Bologna, from Taranto-Bari-Foggia and from Livorno-Pisa-Firenze. Three daily rides from Roma Fiumicino and Ciampino airports to Teramo.
Guests arriving (or leaving) from Colledara exit or Val Vomano bus stop are kindly asked to notify arrival and departure times at registration. We will organize the ride to the Center for a small fee.
Those who need to travel on the Adriatic line can get off at Giulianova train station. From there, however, there is no direct connection in the direction of Castelli. You will need to get to Teramo first, by bus or train, and then take another bus to Castelli (all buses top in Villa Rossi before getting to Castelli).
Guests are not allowed outside of scheduled meetings. The Center is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons by appointment.
CONTACTS
Avalokita Center
Frazione Villa Rossi
64041 Castelli (TE)
Phone: +39 340 6397190 (9.30 am to 11.00 am, every day except Tuesdays).
Web: http://avalokita.it/
E-mail: centro@avalokita.it
For information on the practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
In Italy: http://www.interessere.it
Other practice centers in Europe:
Plum Village (France) http://plumvillage.org/
Intersein Zentrum (Germany – Lay center with teachers Helga and Karl Riedl) – http://www.intersein-zentrum.de/
European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB, Germany) – http://eiab.eu/