Day 1: Rome Fiumicino airport pick up, Sulmona and welcome to Abruzzo dinner
Arrival at Rome Fiumicino airport. Pick up at 2:30 pm (we can organize a pre-tour accommodation in Rome).
Transfer to Sulmona, the town of the Roman poet Ovid.
Check in, relax and welcome dinner at Hotel Ovidius in the heart of Sulmona. Overnight.
Day 2: Sulmona, Confetti Museum & Wine tasting class with Sommelier
Enjoy a leisurely traditional breakfast of freshly baked bread, whole fruit country-style preserves, cake, pastries, coffee, tea and freshly squeezed juice.
Visit of the Confetti (sugar-coated almonds) Museum, where you can see a wide display of old-fashioned confectionery machines and equipment, memorabilia and precious, rare objects relating to the ancient Sulmonese art of confectionary.
After a confetti tasting we’ll have a tour of Sulmona’s historic centre with the Roman aqueduct on Piazza Garibaldi and the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata with its majestic bell tower.
After some free time for lunch at leisure, explore Sulmona at your own pace for shopping and meeting local artisans.
In late afternoon we’ll have a wine tasting class with a professional sommelier for a couple of hours in the centre of Sulmona and learn all about Abruzzo wines.
You’ll taste try 3 different wines from local vineyards, with pairings from local cheeses, salami and other specialties.
Dinner at leisure and overnight.
Day 3: Abruzzo mountains landscapes, Scanno and Vasto on the Adriatic Coast
Breakfast. After check out, we’ll drive across the wonderful Abruzzo mountains and National Parks to the ancient Roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast, where you will be staying for the next 3 nights
On the way to Vasto, we’ll visit the enchanting Hermitage of San Domenico in Villalago and the village of Scanno (one of the most beautiful villages of Italy) on the mountains
Lunch in a traditional restaurant in Scanno.
Transfer to Vasto, check in at Hotel San Marco in the historical downtown.
After a short break, we’ll go on a guided visit of Vasto’s historic center.
We’ll explore Loggia Amblingh, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the 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.
Dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto. Overnight.
Day 4: Vasto Market Tour & Cooking pasta with Mamma
After a visit to Vasto’s colorful weekly market to get seasonal products, we’ll have an exclusive cooking class with a housewife in her house and we’ll learn how easy is to make fresh pasta and be introduced to her favorite seasonal sauces. A sample menu includes: Pasta alla chitarra (made using a guitar strings shape utensil) with meat sauce, polpette (meatballs), and Tarallucci olio e vino (typical biscuits from Abruzzo)
Lunch will consist of the dishes that have been prepared in the morning.
Free time at disposal. Dinner at leisure in one of the many restaurants of Vasto. Overnight.
Day 5: Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, Fish cookery demonstration on a trabocco fishing house and Art experience
After breakfast we’ll explore the Abruzzo coast line. After a short and easy walk inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, one of the 10 most beautiful Italian beaches according to the British daily The Telegraph, we’ll have a fish cooking demonstration on a Trabocco fishing house (the symbol of the area) where we’ll have a unique seafood lunch.
After lunch, Rinaldo, our host, will show us how to fish from the trabocco and reveal the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms that have been featured in the BBC TV show: Escape to the Continent.
After a short break at the hotel, we’ll drive to the little hilltop village of Lentella at Ettore’s “Fattoria d’Arte”(Art farm)
Surrounded by an amazing landscape with sea, mountains, hills, small towns and sea views, we’ll have an artistic experience with Ettore where you may create your personal postcards or a little sculpture.
In the evening, we’ll have an aperitif and dinner with Ettore. If we’re lucky we could help Ettore’s wife make risotto with truffle that grow in Ettore’s land.
Return to the hotel and overnight.
Day 6: Welcome to Puglia, Trani and Castel del Monte
After check out, we’ll move to Puglia where we’ll have a guided visit of the beautiful town of Trani: the little fishing port, the Church of the Templar Knights, the historical quarter.
Free time and lunch on your own in one of the many restaurants of Trani.
Guided tour of Castel del Monte: a UNESCO protected site and a symbol of Puglia.
Transfer to Conversano and check in at Hotel Corte Altavilla in the historical downtown (possibility to have a SPA experience in their wellness center to book in advance)
Guided walking tour in Conversano: ancient town with its medieval Castle and Romanesque cathedral
Dinner at Hotel Corte Altavilla. Overnight.
Day 7: Polignano a mare, cooking class in a masseria and the Trulli of Alberobello
After breakfast, guided tour of of Polignano a mare .
Transfer to an ancient masseria (typical Apulian farmhouse) in Monopoli and cooking class with traditional recipes.
Lunch will consist of the scrumptious dishes that have been prepared in the morning.
Guided tour of the UNESCO site of Alberobello: walk among the trulli, visit to the trullo “sovrano”and its museum.
Free time and dinner at your leisure in one of the many restaurants of Conversano. Overnight.
Day 8: Bari and Gioia del Colle Castle, Olive oil, Mozzarella and Wine-tasting experience
Breakfast. Guided tour of Bari: San Nicola’s church, Frederick II’s castle and the city center.
Visit to a small olive oil mill in the country side of Gioia del Colle where we’ll have an extra virgin olive oil tasting
Guided tour of a family-run winery and light lunch with tasting of the wines and the famous mozzarella cheese of Gioia del Colle.
Guided tour of Federick II’s castle in Gioia del Colle (one of the best kept and preserved castle in all Puglia)
Free time and dinner at your leisure in one of the many restaurants of Conversano. Overnight.
Day 9: Focaccia tasting, Matera and farewell dinner
Breakfast. Focaccia tasting in a very old bakery with a wood burning oven in Altamura, town famous for its DOP bread.
Guided tour of spectacular Matera and its Unesco’s site “the Sassi” (cave houses and rocky churches where time seems to stop).
Free time for lunch and explore the city on your own.
Farewell dinner at the restaurant of the hotel and overnight.
Day 10: Departure and goodbye
After breakfast, departure (normally at 09:00) for Bari airport or your next destination (45 minutes driving from Hotel to Bari airport and 40 minutes to Bari train station)
Price per person: 2650 euro in double room
