Terms & Conditions

1. Operator and contact details

This website and the activities described here are operated by READING RETREATS IN RURAL ITALY A.P.S. (the “Association”, “we”, “us”), Codice Fiscale 91154310378, RUNTS registration no. 122511. Registered office: c/o Savi Consulting SRL - STP, Via Pietro Nenni 6/B, 46100 Mantova (MN), Italy. Operational location: Via Macchina Fissa 107, 46034 Borgo Virgilio (MN), Italy. Email: info@readingretreats.com; PEC: readingretreatsinruralitaly@pec.it; telephone: +39 391 332 1189.

2. Scope, acceptance, and order of documents

These Terms govern use of readingretreats.com and online requests concerning membership, events, visits, stays, internships, payments, and donations. By submitting a form or completing a transaction, you confirm that you have read the Terms presented in that workflow and that the information supplied is accurate.

The Association’s Statute governs the association relationship. Event-specific information and a written stay or internship confirmation govern that specific activity. These Terms apply where those documents are silent. Mandatory law always prevails. The Italian and English versions are intended to have the same meaning; the Italian Statute remains the official governing text of the Association.

3. Website use and availability

Public visitors do not create website accounts. Content is provided for information and to start the workflows described here. We may correct errors, maintain, secure, suspend, or change the site, but will not retrospectively change a confirmed agreement without a lawful basis. Do not interfere with security, submit false or unlawful material, impersonate another person, scrape protected areas, introduce malware, or misuse forms and payment flows.

4. Membership applications

• An online form is an application for admission, not acceptance or automatic membership. Payment alone does not activate membership.
• The competent governing body or its delegate decides the application within 30 days in accordance with the Statute. A refusal is reasoned and the applicant may ask the next Members’ Assembly to review it as provided by the Statute.
• The annual membership amount shown in the workflow is currently €15. While admission is pending, it is treated as the membership-fee component linked to the application. On admission and entry in the member register it becomes the annual fee, which is personal, non-transferable, non-revaluable, and non-refundable as provided by the Statute.
• If admission is refused, the membership-fee component attributable solely to that unsuccessful application is returned through an appropriate method. A separately selected event donation remains governed by section 8. Contact us if the return is not received within a reasonable processing period.
• The association year runs from 31 October through 30 October of the following year. The dates displayed in the application or confirmation identify the requested membership year.
• A person under 18 must use the dedicated paper form countersigned by a parent or legal guardian. The online adult workflow must not be used for a minor.
• The applicant must provide complete and truthful information, accept the Statute, and promptly report relevant changes. Admission remains subject to the Statute and applicable law.

5. Member responsibilities, withdrawal, and exclusion

Members must follow the Statute, valid regulations, reasonable staff instructions, safety rules, and respectful community standards. Withdrawal must be communicated in writing. Suspension, exclusion, non-payment, and loss of membership follow the grounds and procedure in the Statute, including the required reasoned decision and Members’ Assembly safeguards. Resignation, lapse, or exclusion does not create a right to repayment of an annual fee that has already become due and been paid, without prejudice to mandatory law.

6. Events and visits

• Association events are for members. A non-member may submit a membership application in the same workflow, but participation remains subject to admission and confirmation.
• A displayed event, opening, or visit is not a guarantee of availability. Capacity, registration closing dates, age or format requirements, and event-specific instructions apply.
• Once checkout starts, capacity is guaranteed for 15 minutes. A payment attempt may remain technically pending for up to one hour, but after the 15-minute guarantee a late PayPal completion succeeds only if capacity is still available under the event rules.
• A registration is complete only after payment, if any, is captured and the system or Association issues a successful confirmation. A PayPal approval screen or pending status alone is not confirmation.
• For exhibitions, a visit date or opening session may be required. Arrive at the confirmed date and time and follow venue, accessibility, supervision, and safety instructions.
• We may make reasonable programme, speaker, timing, venue, or format changes. If a material change or cancellation occurs, we will communicate the options and any mandatory remedy that applies.

7. Stay and internship enquiries

The website forms are requests for information only. They are not a booking, employment offer, internship placement, tenancy, or guarantee of accommodation. An arrangement exists only when the Association or the relevant host sends a written confirmation describing dates, services, any amount, cancellation terms, eligibility, house rules, insurance, supervision, and the contracting party. If an external accommodation provider is identified, that provider’s terms apply to its service.

8. Payments, membership-fee component, and voluntary donations

• Before redirecting to PayPal, the workflow shows the total and separates any membership-fee component from the event contribution. Check the amount and currency before approval.
• The event contribution field is a voluntary donation. The suggested amount may be changed, including to €0. Donating more than zero is not a condition of admission or participation where the workflow permits a zero amount.
• Event donations and standalone donations support the Association and do not purchase ownership, voting rights, goods, or a guaranteed tax benefit. Any tax treatment depends on law and the donor’s circumstances.
• Payments are processed by PayPal, including card payments offered without a PayPal account. PayPal’s terms and privacy notice apply to its independent payment service. We do not store full card or bank credentials.
• If PayPal capture succeeds but the immediate registration finalisation fails because of capacity, duplication, or an equivalent finalisation error, the system attempts a full automatic refund. If that refund cannot be completed automatically, contact us with the transaction reference so it can be handled manually.
• If a combined membership-and-event workflow is later rejected at the membership-admission stage, the membership-fee component is returned as stated above; the separately chosen event donation remains with the Association, except where mandatory law or a payment error requires otherwise.
• Manual methods such as cash or bank transfer are completed only after Association verification. Never send payment credentials by email or free-text form.

9. Cancellation, refunds, and withdrawal rights

Except for the automatic checkout failure described above, a completed voluntary donation is normally irrevocable and non-refundable, including if the donor later withdraws, does not attend, resigns, or loses membership. Event contributions may also be refunded upon request. This does not exclude a refund required by mandatory law, or a duplicated or unauthorised payment.

Where a transaction legally qualifies as a distance consumer contract for non-residential accommodation, catering, or leisure services on a specific date or during a specific period, the 14-day withdrawal right may be excluded under Article 59(1)(n) of the Italian Consumer Code. Other mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected. A stay or internship enquiry is not itself a contract; any applicable cancellation and withdrawal information is provided before the later written arrangement is concluded.

If the Association cancels or materially changes an activity, the event-specific communication will explain rescheduling, transfer, refund, or other options. Nothing in these Terms limits remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

10. Participation, safety, and personal property

Participants must act responsibly, comply with reasonable safety and venue instructions, supervise minors in their care, and tell us in advance about accessibility or organisational needs relevant to safe participation. Outdoor, rural, historic-building, travel, and communal activities may involve ordinary inherent risks. Do not participate in an activity beyond your abilities. Participants remain responsible for personal belongings, travel documents, insurance, medication, and transport unless a written confirmation expressly says otherwise.

11. Photographs, submissions, and participant content

Do not submit material you do not have the right to share. You retain ownership of your original material. By sending content for a stated publication or programme purpose, you grant the Association a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, format, and publish it only for that communicated purpose and for the period described in the relevant permission. Identifiable photographs or testimonials are published only with an applicable lawful basis. Privacy or removal requests can be sent to info@readingretreats.com.

12. Copyright and intellectual property

All content published on this website—including but not limited to images, photographs, artwork, graphics, text, articles, descriptions, curated lists, audio recordings, video material, logos, site design, databases, layout, and underlying code—is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable intellectual property laws of Italy, the European Union, and international treaties.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all such content is the exclusive property of READING RETREATS IN RURAL ITALY A.P.S. or its content licensors. All rights are strictly reserved worldwide.

You may view website content solely for personal, non-commercial, and informational purposes. Any unauthorized reproduction, downloading, extraction, distribution, public display, modification, framing, automated scraping, or commercial exploitation of any site assets (including images, text, audio, video, lists, or software code) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the Association, without prejudice to mandatory quotation, criticism, or accessibility rights permitted by law.

13. Third-party services and links

PayPal, Google Maps, social networks, accommodation providers, and other linked organisations operate their own services. A link is not an endorsement or guarantee. Their terms, privacy practices, availability, and acts are outside our control, except to the extent the law makes the Association responsible for its own selection, instructions, representations, or conduct. Report broken, misleading, or unsafe links to us.

14. Information, warranties, and liability

We take reasonable care to keep Association information accurate, but editorial content, schedules, travel information, external availability, and linked content may change. Unless expressly agreed in writing, general website content is not legal, medical, tax, travel, employment, or other professional advice.

The Association is responsible in accordance with applicable mandatory law for loss caused by its breach. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, death or personal injury where liability cannot be excluded, data-protection obligations, mandatory consumer rights, or any other liability that the law does not permit us to exclude or limit.

We are not responsible for a participant’s failure to follow reasonable instructions, for undisclosed needs we could not reasonably know, or for independent third-party acts outside our legal responsibility. Events may be delayed, changed, or cancelled by circumstances reasonably beyond our control; we will communicate and perform any non-excludable obligations arising from such circumstances.

15. Privacy and cookies

Personal data is handled under our Privacy Policy. Browser technologies and Google Maps consent are described in the Cookie Policy. These notices form part of the information given before submitting the relevant workflow but do not replace the legal bases described there.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms prospectively for legal, operational, security, or service changes. The date at the top is maintained manually and does not change automatically. The version shown and accepted in a transaction governs that transaction unless the parties lawfully agree otherwise or mandatory law requires a different result. Material changes affecting existing members will be communicated where the Statute or law requires it.

17. Governing law and disputes

Italian law governs these Terms, without depriving a consumer of mandatory protections of the consumer’s habitual-residence law. For a consumer, the mandatory court of the consumer’s residence or domicile and all rights to seek judicial or alternative redress remain unaffected.

Disputes concerning the association relationship are addressed under Article 22 of the Statute through an attempt at amicable composition by arbitrato irrituale: a sole arbitrator chosen jointly or, if no agreement is reached within 30 days, appointed by the President of the Court of Bologna. This statutory clause applies only to the extent lawful and does not remove mandatory consumer jurisdiction or non-waivable remedies.

Before starting proceedings, please send a written complaint to info@readingretreats.com or our PEC with your contact details, the relevant date or transaction, and the requested solution, so we can try to resolve it promptly.

18. Severability and no waiver

If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, it is limited or replaced only to the minimum extent required and the remaining provisions continue to apply. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver. Nothing in these Terms alters rights and duties that may be changed only through the Association’s statutory procedures.