The Neoplatonic Academies
If you want to rediscover the paths of the sacred fire of philosophy, and walk the arduous mountain of wisdom, join the Neoplatonic Academies!
Trips
Aveyron
À VENIR
APRIL 30 TO
May 10, 2025
11 days - 10 nights
Study workshops with Ariane (Platonic philosophy, philosophical symbolism, etc.)
Visits to mythical places related to the study theme
Moments of sharing and discussion
Cretan and Mediterranean gastronomy
Relaxation: nature walks, beach, dancing, lazing around, local culture...
Visits to mythical places related to the study theme
Moments of sharing and discussion
Cretan and Mediterranean gastronomy
Relaxation: nature walks, beach, dancing, lazing around, local culture...
Study workshops with Ariane (Platonic philosophy, philosophical symbolism, etc.)
À VENIR
APRIL 30 TO
May 10, 2025
11 days - 10 nights
Tuscany
Previous trips
A look back at our previous trips: discoveries, encounters and highlights that marked each destination.
Crete
ARIANE'S THREAD AND GREEK MYTHS IN CRETE
Study workshops with Ariane (Platonic philosophy, philosophical symbolism, etc.)
APRIL 30 TO
May 10, 2025
11 days - 10 nights
Tuscany
ON ANCIENT FOOTSTEPS: ETRUSCAN CULTURE AND LATIN PHILOSOPHY
APRIL 12 TO 19, 2025
8 days - 7 nights
2 hours of study workshops with Ariane
Aveyron
IN THE TRAILS OF OUR ROOTS: BETWEEN HERITAGE AND EMANCIPATION
AUGUST 4 TO 11, 2024
8 days - 7 nights
In the heart of Aveyron, embark with Ariane Bilheran on a journey of exploration of churches and castles, focusing on the theme of our roots. The tours will be led by a historical guide, accompanied by Ariane Bilheran, and punctuated by gourmet local meals. They will be complemented by moments and workshops for reflection, transmission, and sharing with Ariane, on the place occupied by our ancestors, memory, and history in our life paths, and their anchoring role in rediscovering our spiritual roots. Each participant will be led to question their personal balance between heritage and emancipation.
Enjoy a privileged and exceptional week accompanied by Ariane Bilheran during activities and workshops where you will have the opportunity to explore, alongside her, in a small group, heritage and emancipation. During the tours, in addition to having Ariane Bilheran with you, you will have a private tour guide.
Experience the Neoplatonic Academy of Marsilio Ficino, for an exceptional philosophical transmission around the Knowledge of the Ancients
1 TO 8
APRIL 2024
8 days - 7 nights
Tuscany
FEEDING YOUR SOUL
Occitania
ON THE CATHA TRAILS: FINDING YOUR INNER TREASURE
Catharism emerged in Western Christianity in the mid-12th century. This medieval Christian movement demanded a return to the original teachings and ideals of Christ. The Cathars considered themselves the only true disciples of the apostles, practicing, like them, absolute poverty and working with their hands to live.
In the company of Ariane Bilheran, from July 4 to 11, we will walk along the Cathar trails in a week-long journey, where we will alternate visits to Cathar cities, charterhouses, churches and monasteries and workshops inviting us to reflect and debate on the times we are living through, in the light of history, philosophy and psychology, on the theme of "finding one's inner treasure."
4 TO 11
JULY 2023
8 days - 7 nights
22 TO 29
MAY 2023
8 days - 7 nights
Tuscany
Philo & Dolce Vita
This week-long stay is an invitation to experience from within each of us what is happening on our planet today, and to transmute this collective reality through love, the wisdom of the Ancients and knowledge, by retracing the humanist paths of Tradition.
In this first journey in a series entitled "Ariadne's Thread" with the philosopher, we will study how, through the extraordinary story of her family dynasty, the Girolami-Cortona, we are subjected to this eternal repetition of cycles, and what personal lessons (philosophical and spiritual) we can draw from it.
We will also go to Cortona and Siena, to meet people who had distinguished lives and a European influence, and even beyond, to rediscover spiritual, cultural and philosophical roots in the Mediterranean cradle, drawing our inspiration in particular from Homer, Virgil, Boethius, Dante, Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Marsilio Ficino, etc.
Ariane Bilheran, accompanied by Lucie Leca, cultural and historical mediator, will explain to us how the journey of her ancestors reflects our personal initiatory path, and invites us to question the best way to free ourselves from the totalitarian drift within us, as well as outside.
What do our Elders have to teach us and transmit to us about the human soul?
Through this week-long immersion in Florence and Tuscany, “the happiest region of intelligence” (according to the philosopher André Suarès), we will immerse ourselves in this cradle of the spiritual alliance between East and West, between poetic recitations, dolce vita, pasta e gelati (pasta and ice cream), philosophical readings, humor and joy of life!
The trip is also supervised by Joy for the Planet journalist and founder of Planetpositive Isabelle Alexandrine Bourgeois and her teammate Daniela Almonti.
“Dear Ariane,
Leaving a note in this guestbook is an attempt to express the ineffable. Let's try, though.
This Neoplatonic stay was a moment suspended in time and space. It consisted of a subtle balance between study and leisure (in the sense of free time of the Ancients), between the calm and quiet of the place of residence and the bustle of the cities visited (Florence and Siena), between reflections and laughter.
The modest size of the group allowed for quality exchanges.
The stay ends, but it is also the beginning of something new. A new impetus on the path of love and wisdom. This path we travel throughout our lives, an infinite journey.
These shared moments will infuse for a long time. They are nuggets that enrich our inner treasure, giving us the resources to get through all of life's moments, good and bad.
Many thanks to you and to all the people who made this stay possible and enjoyable.
I will keep an unforgettable memory of it.”
ISABELLE