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Discovering Puglia - NEW
Mola di Bari, Puglia
About the location: Lecce and Bari are two of the region’s larger and more lively cities. Approximately an hour from Bari you will find the Masseria, a charming countryside mansion from the 17th century. The property is surrounded by acres of olive grove and vineyards and is situated in the heart of the Puglia region, on a hill overlooking the seaside town of Mola di Bari. Once the summer residence of the family, the Masseria is now a unique place to relax in a tranquil setting.
The core of the property is the great stone room, once used as a “frantoio,” or olive mill. It is now used as a living room, full of historic charm and atmosphere. All of the bedrooms feature spacious bathrooms, antique furniture, fabrics and linens of the finest quality, A/C and satellite TV.
About the lessons: Your hands-on lesson will be led by the owner of the property. Once a journalist specializing in environmental and agricultural studies, she now devotes her time to the studies of Puglia’s culinary history and southern identity, teaching the art of creating wonderful and authentic Puglian cuisine, with many recipes taken from the cookbooks written by the women of her family throughout the centuries.
Price Per Person
Price per person based on double occupancy with a minimum four people
2012
$2600 per person June-October, Christmas and Easter
$2400 per person March-May
$2300 per person November-February
Supplement per person for 2-3 people $175
Single supplement on request
Tour Dates
2012
AVAILABLE ANY WEEK ON REQUEST FOR A MINIMUM OF 2.
What's Included
- 6 nights accommodations with full breakfast (double occupancy)
- 6 dinners and 6 lunches
- 1 wine and olive oil tasting
- 1 out-door cooking demonstration
- 2 hands-on cooking lessons in the masseria
- Guided excursions and transportation per itinerary
- Transfers from/to Bari airport or train station
Other Regions in Italy
- Transfer from Bari airport or train station to the masseria.
- Upon your arrival, time to relax or wander around until dinner at 8 p.m. During aperitives and dinner you will be transported back to the Bourbon period with an original Apulia culinary experience. The region was once a province of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the recipes you will taste are very similar to the ones that were prominent during the Reign of the Bourbons.
- Tonight’s dinner features dishes such as the one the owner’s great grandmother, Donna Ritella d’Erario Recchia, Baronessa di Tolve, prepared for her guests. Drinks will be served in antique family glasses.
- After breakfast you’ll walk along the narrow streets of Mola, knocking on the doors of the farmers, who display their daily products of vegetables and fruit on “seggioline,” or little chairs, outdoors in this bustling little town. You will always receive a complimentary smile when you knock on the door to ask for a kilo of figs, or cherries, or “cime di rape.” Here we’ll buy the products that we need for our cooking lesson.
- Depart for Rutigliano, where you will visit one of the biggest producers of pasta.
- Lunch in the masseria and time for a short rest.
- Into the kitchen for our first lesson. Apulia was called the “Garden of the Reign,” because of the richness of the local fruit and vegetables. The Pugliesi were known for being called “mangia foglie e mangia maccheroni” for their tradition of eating pasta with vegetables. In the first lesson we will explore everyone’s favorite dish, “la pasta.” You will learn to prepare fresh pasta and cook many recipes with pasta and vegetables, pasta with legumes and much more.
- Dinner based on your efforts.
- After breakfast, visit Altamura, the world-renowned “town of bread,” where you will see an ancient brick oven bakery.
- Continue your journey to Matera, one of the most unique UNESCO sites with its famous Sassi, where Mel Gibson shot the movie “The Passion.”
- Lunch nearby and then back to the masseria.
- Experience a relaxing 45-minute anti-stress full-body massage with aromatherapy — using local extra virgin olive oil creams — by a professional masseuse. (Limited to 3; if more people are taking the program, they will have the massage on day 5).
- Dinner in the Masseria.
- After breakfast, create the “must” dish of the season. From the Winter to Spring that means creating lamb with wild herbs, which are good for their organoleptic properties and health benefits. If it is before Christmas or Easter though, you will create holiday menus. In the summer, discover the secrets of gelato and fruit sorbets. In the fall, create dishes with mushrooms and different wines. No matter what the season, have a taste of the right “rosolio,” a homemade liquor.
- Lunch based on your efforts.
- Afternoon on your own.
- In the late afternoon, enjoy a wine and olive oil tasting in Polignano, a dream village filled with lights at night. Dinner to follow in a typical osteria.
- After breakfast, the day is dedicated to some of the richness of Apulia food: cheese and cold cuts. See an outdoor demonstration on how to make cheese and Capocollo.
- Spend the rest of the day in the area of Valle d’Itria, where you will have lunch. You will also be visiting breeders and producers of the best food heritages in the area; touring the city of Alberobello (UNESCO World Heritage site), known as the village of “trulli” houses; and visiting Martina Franca.
- Return to the masseria for dinner.
- After breakfast, visit Castellana Grottos, where you will enter a fairytale landscape. Take two hours to explore the underground grottos.
- Lunch at the masseria.
- Return to the hotel and enjoy a relaxing cooking class with typical fish recipes for the arrivederci dinner.
- Breakfast and return transfer to Bari airport or train station.
