Roman Countryside Cooking Vacations in Italy

Please see a sample itinerary of our Italian cooking vacations outside of Rome. The Sunday to Saturday itinerary is displayed. For the Monday to Sunday weeks at the sister property, the order of activities is shifted, with the cooking classes in the morning and excursions in the afternoon.

• Arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and transfer to your accommodations. (Note that the transfer from Fiumicino leaves between 11AM and 12 noon; please plan to leave enough time to disembark and go through passport control before meeting it.)
• Check-in at the villa followed by a welcome aperitivo and light lunch, your first taste of the Roman countryside cooking vacation ahead. After lunch, set off on a short guided walk to get to know the medieval historical village.
• Welcome dinner at the palazzo, with time to get to know the other participants on your Lazio food tour.
• Overnight.

• After breakfast, begin exploring Ciociaria with a visit to the town of Arpino, the birthplace of Cicero as well as the land of “olives.” You will visit a traditional olive oil mill, as well as hear how to make extra virgin olive oil, and get a taste of fresh olive oil at a local estate. A light lunch will follow.
• Around 4:30 p.m, meet the pastry chef to start your cooking class.
• Dinner and overnight.

• Breakfast.
• Start your day at the local farmer’s market to pick out the ingredients for an antipasto extravaganza, a highlight of any Lazio food tour.
• Next, visit a local cheese caseificio, where you’ll sample fresh buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, and provolone.
• Then it’s on to the “Abbey of Fossanova” in Terracina, a Tyrrhenian seaside town. After strolling by some shops and taking in a view of the sea, lunch at a local trattoria.
• Back at the palazzo, some time on your own before your next cooking class that will focus on “antipasti,” including crostini, bruschette, grilled peppers and eggplant, frittate, and stuffed zucchini with a sampling of formaggi e olives. Enjoy your creations at dinner.
• Overnight.

• Breakfast out at a coffee bar, followed by a trip to a “Prosciuttificio” in the town of Guarcino, where you will enjoy a picnic lunch of fresh hand-cut porchetta or prosciutto.
• After returning to the villa, some time to relax.
• Begin your third hands-on cooking class, where you’ll discover a variety of “primi patti” such as sagna con fagioli, zuppa di pane, gnocchi al sugo, and fettucine con tartufo. Dinner to follow based on your efforts, a bottle of wine included.
• Overnight.

• Breakast.
• Head off to visit the Abbey of Montecassino, which has a significant part of history in Ciociaria and in the 2nd World War.
• Then head for a vineyard in the Val Comino, one of Lazio’s notable wine regions, known for its Cabernet wines. Here you’ll visit the bottling plant and cellar, see the vineyards, hear about the vinification process, and end with a wine tasting.
• Depart for the town of Atina, known for it’s annual Jazz Festival.
• Lunch at a local restaurant, with a sampling of more wine from the region.
• Back at the palazzo, you will prepare a variety of “Second Piatti,” perhaps salsiccia con patate e peperuola and involtini, as well as a “controno” to accompany your dinner.
• Overnight.

• Following breakfast, head into the village for some shopping at the local artisan shops, and a bit of free time on your last day.
• In the afternoon, meet up for a final hands-on cooking class to make authentic pizza dough, which you will then make into pizzas for tonight’s pizza party farewell dinner.

• Breakfast and departure for the Rome airport (please schedule a flight departing after 11:00 AM). Arrivederci!