Castello di Ristonchi · Tuscany
ITALY MEN'S IMMERSION
An immersive experience within the walls of a thousand-year-old castle in the Tuscan hills, where stillness, challenge, brotherhood, and embodied practice forge lasting change.
November 10 – 14th, 2027
The Experience
There are places that hold time differently. Ristonchi is one of them. Old stone walls, chestnut forest falling away on every side, olive terraces, spring water, and long November evenings around the fire create the ideal conditions to step out of the momentum of daily life and into direct relationship with yourself. Over five days, you’ll move, breathe, train, walk, reflect, and practice on this ancient ground.
Find your own old ground.
Ristonchi creates the conditions for you to access and walk your own solid ground so you can live and grow from it. You will:
- Understand and embody your life purpose.
- Create a stronger relationship with that which challenges you.
- Learn to circulate your breath and sexual energy, amplifying your life force toward work and love.
- Unpack habits of life that tend to go unchecked.
- Bask in the stillness and history of an ancient place while simultaneously exploring the frontiers of your own internal landscapes.
- Challenge and wrestle with brothers in strength and humor, forging bonds that last a lifetime.
- Train in the principles of a dedicated morning routine, offering you a structure to sharpen, awaken, and strengthen yourself for years to come.
- Enjoy daily meditation, martial arts, group check-ins and reflection, walks through the surrounding forest, solo contemplation, long Tuscan meals, and celebratory evenings around the fire.
This immersion is for the man who…
- Has built a full life but know there’s another layer waiting beneath it.
- Values direct experience over concepts.
- Wants challenge without performance.
- Is hungry to strengthen his relationship with himself, his purpose, and the people he loves.
- Feels called to old places and quiet seasons as much as to inner work.
What we’ll practice:
- Fire circles, ceremony, humor, and shared meals
- Daily qigong, meditation, and breathwork
- Martial arts and embodied awareness practices
- Guided hikes through Zion National Park
- Council, reflection, and honest conversations with other men
- Solo contemplation in nature
- Partner practices that build presence and accountability
The men’s immersion in Zion was one of the most important and powerful things I’ve ever done for myself. And it was returning home where I was met by the most sincere feedback of how powerful it actually was. First from my wife, who was amazed of the stark difference between the man that left, and the solid and still presence of the man that had returned. And second, from a friend I play in a band with. I had a show scheduled for the day after my return. As a professional musician I was concerned that being away from my instrument for over a week would be noticeable, especially to my bandmates. But as I began to take my first solo I quickly noticed a level of inner freedom and spaciousness I hadn’t ever had access to prior to Zion. When I finished with this improvised solo this friend looked at me with raised eyebrows, and simply said “shit, every man should go to Zion.” It was then that I really knew something profound and deep had shifted within me.
—
James Yaman
If your searching for an absolute game changer, internal and external life riveting experience, do the Men’s Retreat with Eli Buren! The sense of reverence I feel today for the life I live is beyond what I imagined. The revelations I experienced have me living from a deeply heart centered space that I had long forgotten. I am eternally grateful.
—
Richard Parkes
I experienced a type of leadership in this immersion that I was beginning to think didn’t exist: Eli showed up as a centered, humble, and wise leader willing to hear and integrate feedback in real time. He owned his space and role with grace and clarity. His consistent focus on the experience of the group kept us present with one another, even through conflict. I resonated with the importance he placed on ritual and ceremony, and the applied wisdom of how these cultivate and contain an experience. What touched me most about the immersion was the container: the natural surroundings, both vast enough and clearly defined as to provide a visceral sense of freedom and safety in which to do, and celebrate, the deep, essential work of the masculine.
—
Sean Talbot
Eli embodies rarely found qualities that spoke to my soul. A combination of honor, depth, strength, love, and a sense of sacredness to everything he brings. He is as authentic as it gets for true spiritual seekers looking for a combination of challenging outdoor adventure, silence, brotherly love, and healing. Thank you Eli!
—
Jandro
Eli has an uncanny ability to provide sharp accountability while holding space in a gracious manner that demands personal growth and introspection.
—
John Mooney
Your Guides
Eli Buren
Eli Buren
Eli Buren is a teacher, facilitator, and father who helps people find their inner ground so they can meet their lives with deep presence and power. Over more than twenty years of retreats, intensives, and mentorship containers, he has worked with thousands of men across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
His teachings draw from qi gong, awareness practice, sacred ceremony, martial arts, and somatic work to create the conditions for direct transformation through lived experience.
James Mattingley
James Mattingley is a facilitator, husband, and father whose work helps men release performance and mental noise and reconnect with their body, breath, and awareness.
With more than fifteen years of facilitation experience and years of training alongside Eli, James brings a rare combination of grounded leadership, attentiveness, and embodied presence to every retreat.
James Mattingley
Immersion Details
TIME & PLACE
November 10th – 14th, 2027
5 Days
This immersion takes place at Castello di Ristonchi in Pelago, in the Tuscan hills about 45 minutes from Florence. We will be held within the walls of a private, thousand-year-old castle, surrounded by forest and olive terraces.
THE INVESTMENT
Tuition is $4,000, including accommodation and all meals. You may complete an initial $1,000 deposit or complete your full payment. If placing a deposit, the remainder will be due by August 10th.
Brother rate: come with another man and the two of you attend for $7,000 together ($3,500 each).
We strive to keep this work accessible to men of all means. sliding-scale work study options are reserved for each Immersion. If you’re interested in work study or in sponsoring a man’s tuition, email hello@attunedeventsco.com.
GETTING HERE
- Fly into Florence Airport (FLR). A shuttle will be arranged for those without transport.
- Drive your own car. Parking is available onsite.
- We will begin 3pm on the 10th, and end at 12pm on the 14th.
GEARING UP
- Accommodation is in the castle’s apartments; bedding and towels are provided.
- Bring warm layers and sturdy walking shoes for November in the hills.
- Full packing list will be supplied once accepted.
