Thousands of Italian emigrants and their descendants have imprinted an indelible mark on Australian culture since the mid-20^th century. Rarely, however, does it work the other way around. Thousands of Australians visit Italy but few move there permanently. Among the exceptions are artist Neil Moore and his wife, Carol Searle, who moved to Umbria in 1988 and call a restored medieval ruin in the tiny hilltop village of Colle de Marchese, near Spoleto, home.

Neil’s immersion over nearly 20 years in the rich history and artistic heritage of Umbria is reflected in his art: delicate, detailed etchings and lavish, Renaissance inspired oil paintings in a style he describes as ‘magic realism’. In Neil Moore’s world naked valkyries recline on rubbish heaps and Rubenesque goddesses emerge from red convertibles in a startling marriage of ancient myth and modern reality.

"The modern world is there,” says Neil, “but in a tradition that goes way back, technically and iconographically. It’s a fruitful combination of ancient and modern – like Italy itself with its lively culture grown out of the wonderful past that is ever-present here. One the one hand there is reverence for tradition but also irreverence towards the imagery and language of this tradition. I like to play with the absurdities while sincerely admiring the technical aspects of past masters I admire. I can be as free as I like, unlike those Renaissance masters I admire.”

Born in Oxford in the UK to Australian parents, Neil was brought up and educated in Melbourne and Canberra. Always passionately interested in art and ancient history as a child he went on to complete an Honours degree in Fine Arts at the University of Sydney. In 1974, her took up a post teaching in the same department, leaving four years later to spend time on another passion, restoring old British motorcycles, and to take up the threads of practical art he had abandoned during his university studies.

In 1979, Neil began doing black and white illustrations for Australian newspapers, winning a Walkley Award in 1980. That same year he made his first life-changing trip to Europe becoming fascinated first by France and then by Italy. Over the following years he moved back and forth between Australia and Europe, supporting himself with illustrating work while establishing a reputation as a fine artist, with exhibitions in France, England, Germany and Italy.

In 1988, three months before he was to leave Australia for a permanent home in Italy, Neil met English and music teacher Carol Searle in Sydney. “Neil had bought a house in Italy and wanted to escape the bounds of a work situation and being around people and concentrate on his art,” says Carol. “I had to convince him that I could fit in with this. He also had a German girlfriend at the time but I fixed that!”

The couple settled in Italy, along with Carol’s daughter Amber, then aged seven, in the  tiny mountain village of Morchicchia, occupied by five other people, all aged over 65 and living a traditional subsistence lifestyle. “As soon as we arrived our neighbour, Eufemia, took me into the forest to show me how to collect twigs, put them in a bundle and take them back to the house,” recalls Carol. “We had no common language so all relationships depended on gestures, exchanges and generosity.  Eufemia came and sat in the kitchen every morning for a year to keep me company and, as the lady in the village responsible for the morality  of young girls, if Neil was away she would come into the bedroom in the morning and check the doona to see if anyone was there!”

After the arrival of sons Claudio and Leandro, Neil and Carol bought the ruins of a 13^th castle in the nearby village of Colle de Marchese and began turning it into a home. Neil undertook the work himself, working through the winter carrying loads of tools and building materials 45 minutes on foot through the snow when the roads were cut off and he couldn’t take his motorbike. With its circular stone walls, ancient oak beams and dreamy views of the Umbrian countryside, the house is very much a sculpture for living and a realisation of Neil’s long-time fascination with towers, which have appeared often in his etchings and paintings over the years.

By this time, Carol had begun teaching English to supplement the family’s income. “I had lots of students but many of them had no money so I had the idea of creating work for them teaching Italian to visitors from overseas,” recalls Carol. One such student was Piero Fabrizi who had recently converted four farm buildings on his 400 year old family estate outside the walls of the medieval hilltown of Montefalco into delightful agriturismo (farm stay) accommodation.

And thus was the idea for Neil and Carol’s now successful Living Italy Study Holidays business hatched, immersing visitors in the history, art, music, food, wine and language of the Vale of Umbria. “The first busload arrived from Australia and 11 people stepped out. Ever since that first group I’ve been astounded at how much fun everyone has,” says Carol, recalling that she and Neil were able to buy a refrigerator from the profits of that first tour.

Thirteen years later, Living Italy is still introducing visitors to the depth and delights of Italian culture, recently introducing tours to Sicily as an additional option. With the business established, daughter Amber now married and living in Queensland and older son Claudio attending boarding school in Brisbane, Neil is reveling in having more time to devote once again to his art.

“I’ve just completed an addition to the house that will be my studio,” says Neil, “ I’m completing work I started on years ago and have paintings in my head that will take several years to complete. I’ve started work on what will be my most ambitious work yet. Unusually for me it’s a crucifixion – though I’m not religious I find the imagery very moving.”

Neil has also been working on a series of portrait commissions (his first portrait, of Australian journalist Brian Toohey, hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra), including a series of official portraits for the University of Sydney as well as private commissions.

I feel as though I am finally in the studio of my dreams,” says Neil, “in the place I want to be.”