Culinary Vacations in Umbria
Umbria is Italy’s spellbinding heart of natural beauty and is acclaimed for its culinary authenticity and genuineness, even by Italians themselves. Spoleto – your home for our classic Italy culinary tours and fabulous artistic adventures – is a center of culture for its many attractions, from its festivals to its ancient sites and cuisine. Often described as a little piece of heaven fallen to earth, it’s a town that truly embodies the history of Italy at every turn. The cuisine here is rustic, and while sometimes referred to “peasant cooking,” it truly is from the land, with ingredients like farro, wild herbs, truffles, and lentils, as well as a plethora of cured meats. It is a perfect destination for our culinary vacations in Umbria.
Explore this wonderful town during our Italy culinary tours with a guide by your side, well-known artist and activist Richard di San Marzano. Richard has created events and organized trips for many famous actors and artists. He will help you discover the secrets of Umbria, both culinary and otherwise!
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Highlights of our Culinary Vacations in Umbria
As one of our most unique Italy culinary tours, Secrets of Spoleto and Umbrian Cuisine offers wonderful cooking classes and a week’s stay in one of our favorite towns. Our Secrets of Spoleto culinary vacations in Umbria include:
- 3 hands-on cooking classes featuring authentic Italian recipes plus an olive oil class
- deluxe accommodations
- walking tour of Spoleto and its sites
- olive mill visit
- visit to Bevagna and Montefalco with wine tasting
- meals as indicated
Spoleto Umbria Culinary Vacation Trip Itinerary
Day One
Order of activities may vary based on season and dates booked.
- Arrive at Spoleto train station and transfer to the town center to check into your hotel.
- Begin your trip with a welcome aperitif with your host, Richard di San Marzano, followed by a gourmet welcome dinner.
- Overnight.
Day Two
- Breakfast.
- In the morning, embark on an orientation walk to get to know the ancient town of Spoleto. Visit the Duomo, famous for its facade and Fra’ Fillipo Lippi’s final fresco cycle; as well as the market square that dates back to 200 BC. You’ll also have time to stroll the maze of enchanting lanes that characterize Spoleto as one of Italy’s most beautiful hill towns.
- Enjoy a light seasonal lunch al fresco, weather permitting.
- In the afternoon, begin your first hands-on cooking class, in which you will create an entire Italian menu.
- Dinner to follow based on your efforts in the magnificent candle-lit 500-year-old dining room of your hotel.
- Overnight.
Day Three
- Breakfast
- Today is devoted to everything one needs to know about the most essential ingredient of the cuisine of Italy: extra virgin olive oil. We embark on a trip to Campello and environs, one of Italy’s most famed olive growing areas which produces olive oil that is prized by chefs and cooks the world over for its robust flavor and vibrant color. We explore an ancient olive grove with extraordinary handmade stone terraces on steep hillsides that support and produce the olives that provide an oil that is the finest of its kind. Weather permitting, we will have a picnic featuring local porchetta bread rolls and discuss the history and mythology that surrounds the story of olive oil.
- We then visit one Umbria’s oldest olive mills to learn how it is produced, the different qualities of olive oil, how to taste and select it, and how to use it in innovative recipes. Along the way your host will also share what life is like at an olive mill.
- Return to Spoleto in the late afternoon for some time on your own.
- Dinner in Spoleto
Day Four
- Breakfast.
- Start the day with a visit to La Rocca, a military fortress that dominates the valley of Spoleto with its museum, frescoed rooms, and massive viaduct. Take a scenic walk and discover the castle’s extraordinary history.
- Lunch on your own.
- In the afternoon, meet our next chef for a cooking class where we make pasta by hand at a local restaurant where the dishes will be a surprise (but will be based on the season)!
- Dinner to follow the class based on what you made — and perhaps more! The seemingly never-ending feast will be served in a restaurant that has hosted artists of the Festival of Spoleto for over 60 years.
Day Five
- This morning enjoy a country stroll through a scenic vineyard on your way to the tiny medieval walled town of Bevagna, which is interestingly characterized by how history has been incorporated over time. Roman sites coexist with modern buildings.
- Light lunch in Bevagna.
- Next, it’s on to Montefalco, a town famous for its wine. Experience a wine tasting at one of Italy’s most prestigious wine makers, along with some food pairings.
- Dinner in Spoleto
- Overnight.
Day Six
- After breakfast, enjoy some time on your own to shop and stroll in Spoleto. Perhaps sit in one of the piazzas with a cappuccino and people watch.
- Lunch on your own.
- In the afternoon, return to the kitchen for one last hands-on cooking class, this time led by Chef Eros Patrizi who leads master classes for cooks of all skill levels.
- Dinner to follow in Chef Eros’s elegant Michelin-starred restaurant “Tempio del Gusto” – a magical experience!
Day Seven
- Breakfast followed by check out and transfer to Spoleto train station.
Spoleto Umbria Cooking Holidays Trip Details
Included in Our 6-Night Italy Culinary Vacations in Umbria
Accommodations
6 nights accommodations at a historical residence in Spoleto
Food & Beverages
- Daily breakfast
- 3 lunches
- 6 dinners
- Wine with all included meals
Classes & Instructors
Your 4 classes–3 hands-on cooking classes and an olive oil class–will demonstrate how art and history connect with the gastronomy of Umbria. Your cooking classes will be lead by different chefs or cooks, including:
- a master class with a Michelin-starred chef, Eros Patrizi
- lesson at a local restaurant with seasonally based recipes
- the chef of your hotel for a class on homemade pasta and traditional Italian food (or some weeks this class will be held at a country villa)
- an class on olive oil and its influence on Umrbian cuisine, as well as how to use it in innovative recipes
Excursions
- Walking tour of Spoleto
- Visit a picturesque olive oil producing area with olive mill visit
- Visit of La Rocca and its viaduct, one of Spoleto’s signature sites
- Visit to Bevagna and Montefalco with wine tasting
Transfer Details
- Arrival and departure transfers to/from Spoleto train station
Accommodation Information
The Palazzo Leti was the residence of the noble Leti family and is located in the heart of Spoleto. The gorgeous villa and grounds are now an elegant villa hotel offering beautiful rooms and first-class service. The 12 rooms maintain the original look of the building and feature en suite bathrooms, safe, mini bar, air conditioning, satellite TV, and WiFi, as well as beautiful views.
Please note the Palazzo Dragoni is unavailable in 2023. The magnificent hotel of Palazzo Dragoni is a family-run property located in the heart of Spoleto. The oldest part of the building dates back to the 900s, and was once an ancient medieval tower. Many of the renovated rooms offer sweeping panoramic views across the valley, with views of the hill towns of Montefalco, Assisi, and Trevi, and landscapes of ancient olive groves. All 14 rooms at the Palazzo are well appointed, spacious, and richly decorated with antique furniture and comfortable beds. Modern amenities include satellite TV, minibar, hair dryer, telephone, Wi-fi, safe, and air conditioning.
Culinary Vacations in Spoleto Umbria Pricing & Dates
Find pricing and dates for our Secrets of Spoleto culinary vacations in Umbria below, and contact us for availability or to plan your trip.
Spoleto Umbria Culinary Vacations Pricing:
6-Night Spoleto Cooking Vacation Pricing
US$3300 per person based on double occupancy
- Add US$350 for single occupancy (use of a double room by 1 person)
30% deposit due to confirm booking.
Balance payment due 60 days prior to tour start date. Questions? Please contact us!
Secrets of Spoleto Umbria Culinary Vacation Tour Dates
Our Italy culinary tours in Spoleto can take place any week you choose for 2-6 people. Sample dates follow, please inquire.
Itinerary generally starts on Sunday, but other start dates also possible.
2023
Sample dates, please inquire for availability.
May 28-June 3
June 4-10
June 11-17
June 18-24
June 25-July 1
July 2-8
July 9-15
July 16-22
July 23-29
July 30-August 5
August 6-12
August 13-19
August 20-26
August 27-September 2
September 3-9
September 10-16
September 17-23
September 24-30
October 1-7
October 8-14
October 15-21
October 22-28
October 29-November 4
November 5-11
November 12-18
November 19-25
November 26-December 2
December 3-9
December 10-16
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