CULINARY TOUR OF HIDDEN ABRUZZO

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This tour has a special place in my heart. Abruzzo is one of Italy’s last undiscovered regions, a place of medieval castles and quaint mountain villages, of green hills and olive groves, and of incomparable food and wine. It’s also where my mother was born and raised and where I spent my summers growing up.

My collaborators for this week-long tour are Nancy and Michael Morizio of Abruzzo Presto. We offer this tour just once a year to a small group of up to 10 people. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in local Italian living, to take a deep dive into the food, wine, and culture of this beautiful region.

Our days are filled with exploring the countryside around the Maiella and Gran Sasso mountain ranges, and along Abruzzo’s Adriatic coast. We learn about and sample the region’s best sheep’s milk cheeses and we spend an afternoon picnicking at Campo Imperatore, near the summit of the Gran Sasso. We sample local olive oil, truffles, and saffron, and taste wines from Abruzzo’s best vineyards. On the coast we dine on freshly caught fish. And in the mountains we feast on porchetta, and wood-fired pizza. Along the way we tour medieval towns and hike to castles high in the Apennine mountains.

The beautiful medieval city of Sulmona, birthplace of the poet Ovid, and also famous for the delicious candy-coated almonds known as confetti, is our home base for the first half of the tour. For the second half, we move to Torre Mannella, a family-owned and run agriturismo in the hills near Città Sant’Angelo.

Since this is a culinary tour, we also spend some time in the kitchen, where I teach two hands-on cooking classes, accompanied by local Abruzzese cooks. For our Market-to-Table class we shop at the farmers’ market in Sulmona for ingredients, and then head to the kitchen to turn what we buy into a meal. In our pasta class, we learn how to make one of Abruzzo’s most famous pasta dishes, spaghetti alla chitarra. And, on our final evening, we fire up the outdoor oven, beneath a fig tree at Torre Mannella, and make wood-fired pizza. Our meals are always be accompanied by Abruzzo’s finest wines. It’s an unforgettable week.

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TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Transfers to and from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport in a private air-conditioned van.

All lodgings and meals, with courses designed to highlight the exquisite cuisine of Abruzzo.

Picnic on a mountaintop followed by a hike to a medieval fortress.

Private vineyard and winery tour, with accompanied wine tastings and an al fresco aperitivo.

Personalized guided excursions with artisan cheese makers, bakers, and producers of saffron and extra-virgin olive oil.

Hands-on market-to-table cooking class.

A day spent in an Abruzzo countryside home, making pasta with Lina and tasting Abramo’s homemade wine.

Personalized recipes from Domenica Cooks for you to take home.

Along the way we tour Abruzzo’s stunning cultural gems, including medieval castles, churches, mountain villages, hermitages and more.

All-inclusive price per person double-occupancy for 8 days/7 nights: $4,950

($150 per day single supplement).