Join us on a 7-day Italian cookery tour in Abruzzo, central Italy! You will be part of a small group of people and will be able to develop your culinary and wine skills and discover the region’s off-the-beaten-track secrets and atmosphere during Easter time.
The highlight of this tour is the chance to experience traditional Easter celebrations, religious events, festivals and food of Abruzzo.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Easter religious and food festivals
• Hands on cooking class: pasta and Easter dessert
• Olive oil tasting, cheese making, cheese tasting
• Art experience
• Fishing demonstration, visiting artisans, farm, castle,
• Personalized cooking booklet, apron
• 6 nights accommodation
• 6 breakfasts, 8 meals in selected restaurants and farmhouses
• Small groups up to 16 people

ITINERARY

* B= Breakfast | L=Lunch | D=Dinner | T=Tasting | C=Cooking Lesson

Day 1 | Airport pick up and welcome to Abruzzo dinner! (*D)

PM

Rome Fiumicino airport pick up and transfer to the ancient Roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast after crossing beautiful Abruzzo mountains looking at amazing landscapes. After checking in at charming and family run Hotel San Marco (or a similar accommodation) in the historical downtown, get to know your guide and learn more about the 7-day Italian cookery holiday and enjoy a welcome dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto.

Enjoy the “sepolcri night” atmosphere. One of the most interesting traditions about Holy Week in Italy is the custom of visiting the sacramental altars, called “sepolcri – sepulchers” in Italian, of 3, 5, 7 or more different churches on the evening of Holy Thursday. The custom entails a plenary indulgence and it usually consists of putting many lights around the church altars. Historically these lights included torches and lanterns.

Day 2 | Holy Friday | Fishing demonstration on a trabocco fishing house, farmhouse experience, exploring Vasto’s historic center and procession of Dead Christ (B, T, C, L)

AM

After breakfast we will explore the Abruzzo coast line and we will meet Rinaldo, a fisherman that will show us how to fish from the trabocco (the symbol of the area). He will reveal the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms that have been featured in the BBC TV show: Escape to the Continent
Before we leave for our next adventure we will have a seafood aperitif.
Next we will make our way to a farmhouse where Pina and Berardino will reveal the secrets of sheep and cows farming to us. There will also be an opportunity to learn how to milk a sheep or cow.
After a snack of cheese, we will learn how to prepare ricotta cheese in their creamery
We will also learn how to make a special bread called “pizza scima – stupid pizza”

PM

A delicious traditional lunch will be prepared and served. This will be the time to savor our “just made” warm ricotta cheese
In the afternoon we will explore Loggia Amblingh in Vasto, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline. Vasto is an old town with its medieval castle, charming lanes, a tower, the Cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti, a poet from the town and father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Enjoy The Venerdì Santo (Holy Friday) atmosphere by partaking in the procession of “Cristo Morto – Dead Christ”in Vasto city center
Tonight you may experience dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants of Vasto

Day 3 | Holy Saturday | A visit to market, cooking pasta with Mamma, free afternoon (B, C, L)

AM

After a leisurely traditional breakfast of freshly baked bread, whole fruit country-style preserves, cake, pastries, coffee, tea and freshly squeezed juice, we will visit Vasto’s colorful market to get seasonal products
Next we will have an exclusive cooking class with a housewife in her house and we will learn how easy fresh pasta is to make and be introduced to her favorite seasonal sauces. An example menu includes Bread with meat sauce, Pasta alla chitarra with meat sauce and polpette (meatballs), Cavatelli with vegetables and Tarallucci (typical biscuits from Abruzzo) – naturally this depends on seasonal availability

PM

Lunch will consist of the scrumptious dishes that have been prepared in the morning
Free afternoon for your own activities, which could be: to go to one of the many beaches, visit a nature reserve, Easter shopping or whatever you prefer.
Tonight you may experience dinner or on your own in one of the many restaurants of Vasto
You can also partake the Holy Saturday service in one of the many churches in Vasto city center

Day 4 | Easter Sunday | Exploring Sulmona’s historic center, Madonna che scappa in piazza (Running Madonna) event, Easter lunch (B, L)

AM

After breakfast we will drive through the beautiful Abruzzo mountains and we will get to Sulmona, the town of the Roman poet Ovid, the most illustrious son of Sulmona
we will discover Sulmona and see the Roman aqueduct on Piazza Garibaldi. But this is a special day in which we can assist to the Madonna che scappa in piazza (Running Madonna), a narrative and very emotional evocation of the encounter between Mary and the risen Christ. This is the most famous Easter event of the region with more than 10.000 people observing this tradition every year. Take a look at this video to see what this special event entails

PM

Traditional Easter lunch in Sulmona
Free time to explore Sulmona and to taste Confetti for which Sulmona is famous for all over the world
Tonight you may experience dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants of Vasto

Day 5 | Angel’s Monday | Roccascalegna Castle and medieval festival, exploring Punta Aderci Nature Reserve (B, L, D)

AM

After breakfast we will make our way to the village of Roccascalegna where we will explore the enchanting Abruzzo castle in the sky and enjoy a festival with demonstration of medieval fights, demonstration of hunting with falconry and theatrical performances that will bring you directly into the magical atmospheres of the Middle Ages.

PM

Street food lunch with typical arrosticini (sheep kebaps from Abruzzo), focacce and pastries
we will have a short and easy walk inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, one of the 10 most beautiful Italian beaches according to the British daily news, “The Telegraph”
Dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto

Day 6 | Tuesday | Talami in Orsogna traditional feast and art experience

AM

After breakfast we will make our way to the village of Orsogna to experience the “Talami”, one of the most popular events of Easter time in Abruzzo. The Feast, a breathtaking parade of seven floats carrying sacred images inspired from the Bible, takes place every year on the Tuesday after Easter and thousands of people are drawn by this show combining theatre with folk traditions. From 2011 the Talami are “Heritage of Italy for Tradition”.
We will enjoy a collective lunch in the main square with a traditionl dish: “Gnuccune aristufate” (a special kind of pasta)

PM

After a short break at the hotel, we will drive to the little hilltop village of Lentella at Ettore’s “Fattoria d’Arte”(Art farm)
Surrounded by an amazing landscape with mountains, hills, small towns and sea views, we will have an artistic experience with Ettore and his wife Barbara where you may create your personal postcards or a little sculpture
In the evening Ettore and Barbara will host us to an apertif and dinner

 Day 7 | Goodbye

After breakfast departure for Rome Fiumicino airport or your next destination (around 3,5 hours driving from Vasto to Rome Fiumicino airport)

* Recipes subject to the availability of seasonal produce

DATES AND PRICES – ITALIAN COOKERY BREAK AND ABRUZZO EASTER EXPERIENCE

18 – 24 April 2019: € 1.595,00*

* All prices are land only and based on double or single occupancy. Airfare and travel insurance are not included. There is no single-room supplement.

Pick up and drop off at Rome airports

Small groups up to 16 people
 
Our 7-day Italian cookery tour in Vasto Italy includes:

• 6 Nights accommodation at Hotel San Marco in the historic centre of Vasto or similar accommodation
• Breakfast Buffet Daily
• 8 meals (food, water, house wine) in selected restaurants, a farmhouse and street food based on traditional regional dishes
• 1 hands-on cooking class and associated food costs
• Daily trips and excursions
• Art experience with a local artist
• Pick up and drop off at Rome Fiumicino airport
• Personalized cooking booklet and apron
• All transport for daily trips and excursions
• All entry fees for excursions, tours and tastings
• English-speaking tour manager throughout the duration
• All taxes

What’s not included

• Airfares
• Snacks/Drinks between meals, or any meals not listed on the itinerary
• Personal expenses like phone calls, visa costs, laundry or tips
• Travel insurance (not obligatory, but recommended)
• Drinks not listed in the itinerary (an extra bottle of wine, for example)
• The cost of additional excursions or activities