Day 1 THU, 1 OCTOBER 2026
Sala Dante
Welcome
- Luggage transfer
- Light lunch
- Dark sky quiz
- Workshop group allocation
Introduction to Abbadia & via Francigenia
- Landscape, nature, history and architecture
- Visit to workshop sites
Check in and coffee break
Free time to get settled and take a break
Introduction to Going Dark
- Workshop plan
- Dark sky overview
- Design sprint explanation
Introduction to darkness and each other
- Night vision
- Why are you here?
Introduction to sponsors and equipment
Technical introduction to tools, control and materials
Introduction to Night Photography
Matteo De Bernardini, photographer
How to record your lighting experiments — photography with tripods, astrophotography, long exposure, cameras and smart phones
Dinner
Group Work and Night Testing I
- Site set-up
- Initial experimentation on site with team
Explore Light
- Free roam time to visit other sites and equipment
- Visit the tower for the interactive demo
Goodnight with hot drinks & cakes
Day 2 FRI, 2 OCTOBER 2026
Breakfast
Dark Sky and Heritage Projects
Sponsors present exemplar projects, luminaire applications and new technology for dark sky environments
Dark Sky Masterclass I
Chiara Carucci, NOCTUA
Approaches to lighting design for dark sky, nature and people
Tea & Coffee Break
Dark Sky Masterclass II
Emrah Baki Ulas & Vera Xia, University of Sydney
Approaches to lighting design for dark sky, nature and people
Guided visit to the MAM museum
Giacomo Baldin, MAM
Lunch
Introduction to Night 2 Tasks
- Aims and objectives
- Experimentation, recording & measuring
Group work
- Planning the approach for evening activities
- Day time site reviews
- Allocating tasks and sub-groups
Tea & Coffee Break
Lecture TBC
Italian Dark Skies and Stargazing
Alessandro Marchini, Astronomical Observatory, University of Siena
Dinner
Group Work and Night Testing II
- Site set-up
- Experimentation on site with team
Wine tasting with City Green Light
Wine tasting and introduction to wines of the region
Astronomy in Action with Unione Astrofili Senesi
- Star gazing with telescopes
- Astrophotography
Day 3 SAT, 3 OCTOBER 2026
Breakfast & Check-out
Luggage to be brought to ground floor
Design Sprint
Creative brainstorming session to generate dark sky ideas and solutions for Abbadia
Sharing Dark Sky Thoughts
- Open to the general public
- 5 mins per group for each team share their dark sky sensitive ideas and thoughts
Final Thoughts
Wrapping up the workshop
2026 Going Dark Team Photograph
Final Lunch
Check out and departure