Living Umbria

EURO 3900 per person in twin share                       AUD 6500  Subject to change
 

SUNDAY 03 TO SUNDAY 17 MAY 2009
SUNDAY 06 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2009

The tour includes guided day trips to impressive locations where you will benefit from the expertise and knowledge of local residents and guides who have lived in the area for many years leading you through a maze of hidden treasures often familiar only to those of us who live here. This is a unique experience and will introduce you in a relaxed way to real life in one of Italy's least exploited regions.

• Seasonal activities and festivals whenever available

• A discovery of the artistic heritage of Central Umbria

• A thorough introduction to the traditional local cuisine

• Cellar tastings of Montefalco's award winning wines

• A medieval feast in historical costume

• Truffle hunting in the forest above Spoleto

• An exploration of traditional artisan activities including weaving in Montefalco and Perugia and ceramics in Bevagna

You will be staying at the Fabrizi family accommodation or ‘farmstay’ hotel located just outside the walls of the medieval hilltown of Montefalco. The accommodation is ideally situated for our visits to nearby towns and villages. In 1991 a cluster of four of the farm buildings was converted into high quality accommodation, with a swimming pool added later. There are fifteen rooms. All have their own bathroom and private entrance. Meals are held in a pleasant dining room and there are lounge areas in two of the buildings. There is a garden and terrace with spectacular views across the Vale of Umbria to Assisi, Trevi and Spoleto. This is often used as an outdoor eating area but is also a wonderful place to read or just take in the sun. The rooms are not air-conditioned, but the thick walls and shady trees keep the temperature pleasant even on hotter days. The region also produces some of the finest natural produce in Italy. The estate is still a working farm producing its own wine and olive oil which are used to prepare the delicious simple meals which are such a feature of the tour.

This is a preliminary itinerary. The program may be altered to accommodate seasonal variations and activities, including local festivals, exhibitions or concert performances. However the essential content of the itinerary will remain the same and an updated version of the itinerary will be presented on arrival. B L D means that breakfast, lunch and/or dinner will be included that day.

Day 1 Sunday                     Rome to Montefalco, Wine Tasting                           L D

You will be met at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport at Fiumicino at 10.30am. A private air-conditioned coach will transfer you to Montefalco.  After lunch on the estate we travel up to the medieval town of Montefalco where you will be introduced to the artisan traditions of the town including a wine tasting at the family run enoteca in the town's delightful piazza. Dinner at the accommodation

Day 2     Monday                Montefalco markets & Spoleto                              B D
Today is market day in Montefalco so there is a walk around the town to experience the atmosphere. Leaving from the markets we travel to Spoleto, a town rich in Roman and medieval history. We visit the church of San Pietro Fuori Le Mura which boasts one of the most outstanding Romanesque facades in Umbria before crossing the magnificent medieval aqueduct on our way into the city. We explore the ancient Roman centre of the town including the Roman house and visit the Duomo to see Filippo Lippi's final fresco cycle. On our way home we visit the fascinating paleo-Christian basilica of San Salvatore and the mysterious Tempietto at Clitunno.

Day 3     Tuesday                        Bevagna                                                         B D

Down in the valley and just a short distance from Montefalco, Bevagna is one of Umbria's most popular towns. Originally a Roman town, it has a beautifully evocative piazza encircled by three churches and containing roman ruins. We visit a private medieval house and roman mosaics as part of the exploration of this small gem.

Day 4     Wednesday                    Spello & Trevi                                                B D

We travel to the delightful small hilltown of Spello and include a guided visit to the Baglioni Chapel decorated with superb frescoes by the Umbrian Renaissance master Pinturicchio. The rest of the morning is free in the town to explore the ancient roman backstreets and modern art shops.  A visit to nearby Trevi on the way home. One of the most picturesque towns in the Umbrian valley.

Day 5    Thursday                    Gubbio                                                              B D
This morning we drive to Gubbio, an exceptionally well-preserved medieval hilltown nestling in a remote valley in northern Umbria. We visit the museum in the imposing Palazzo dei Consoli to see the extraordinary Eugubean Tablets, the most complete record of religious practices from anywhere in the ancient world. After free time we drive to the monastery of Sant' Ubaldo where the ancient 'Ceri' that form the focus of Gubbio's annual festival are kept.  

Day 6    Friday                         Assisi                                                             B D
 We spend the day in Assisi, the home of St Francis, Italy's favourite saint. There is a guided visit of the town, the Roman remains under the still-standing temple of Minerva, and the Basilica of San Francesco decorated with frescoes by Giotto. Dinner at the accommodation is followed by a talk with slides on the apocalyptic fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli.

Day 7     Saturday                 Orvieto                                                             B D
In the morning travel to Orvieto for a guided tour of the town including the Duomo, among the greatest of all Italy’s cathedrals, containing the work of Luca Signorelli. There will be free time to visit the weekly markets and to explore the town centre with its fascinating array of shops, cafes and an award-winning gelateria. Cocktails and farewell dinner at the accommodation. ()

Day 8     Sunday                    Day at leisure                                      B
Free time to wander and explore either the delightful streets of Medieval Montefalco or the surrounding countryside. An optional excursion can be arranged with local drivers if you feel you would like to explore further afield.
 

Day 9 Monday                    Villa Cooking                                             B L D

The cooking class is at a local villa just near the marketplace below the town. This morning you will develop skills in making a complete Umbrian meal from antipasti, through to dolci, including fresh pasta in its local variation, 'strangozzi' with its interesting definition as 'priest strangler. If you aren't in the mood to cook we will book you in for a massage or facial instead.
 

Norcia                                                                       B L D

The morning is at leisure.  In the afternoon we drive through the Valley of the river Nera to Norcia, the sausage and salami capitol of Italy.  The walled roman town has been historically famous for its delicious cheeses and salamis and almost every Italian town has a Norcineria selling its produce.

Day 4  Wednesday       Olive oil tasting, Biological farm                   B L D  

We visit a local oil mill and walk through the field of olives which will include a field lecture on growing techniques and a detailed tasting and comparison some of the area's excellent extra virgin olive oils. The whole of Umbria beneath 600 metres in altitude has a climate and geography particularly suited to the cultivation of the olive. The oil is an essential ingredient of Umbrian cooking and the landscape displays evidence of years of tradition in the area's principal agricultural activity. We travel on to a nearby farmhouse where we explore the ancient estate, its traditions and its biological grain farm, cooking lunch by the enormous fireplace in the original family kitchen using produce from the fields outside.

Day 5 Thu        Ceramics, Weaving, Perugia                        B D  

Deruta has been a major ceramics centre since medieval times. No culinary exploration would be complete without a venture into eating's decorative accessories. Here you will be shown through a selection of some of the 300 outlets selling plates, bowls and anything else that might be made of terracotta. We then travel on to Perugia to a workshop of traditional fabric weavers still using ancient hand built wooden looms in a beautifully restored gothic church.  The afternoon in the town is free for shopping or individual sightseeing.

Day 6  Fri           Truffle hunt                                              B L D  
This morning we travel to a mountain forest where we will accompany a professional truffle hunter and his trained dogs into the forest on his daily quest for 'black gold'. We enjoy a simple meal of wine, bruschetta, pasta and truffles in the hunter's home in the mountain village.

Day 7 Sat         Ancient Traditions,                                      B L D
 After a short drive to a nearby farmhouse we visit a ‘carbonaio’ or charcoal kiln that once provided the local area with wood coal. They will show us the ancient techniques and we have lunch on the property. T       

Day 8   Sunday      Day at Leisure

Day 9  Monday          In the afternoon we travel directly to dinner on the vine covered terrace of a local winery, one of the family run smaller cellars that characterize the wine making traditions of the area.        

Day 11     Wednesday        Wine Tastings,

he afternoon is taken up with visits to various local wine cellars where Montefalco reds have won prestigious awards for the best red wine in Italy. Dinner is a medieval feast in costume in an ancient setting in Bevagna.

Day 15    Sunday                Departure                                                         B
You depart at 8am by coach for Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport at Fiumicino where you arrive at approximately 11am. The tour officially ends here.

The cost of the tour is EURO 3900 / AUD 6500 per person in twin share. A deposit of EURO 600 per person is required to reserve a place on the tour. This deposit is non-refundable unless the tour is cancelled. A limited number of single supplements is available at an additional cost of EURO 600 in a single room, or EURO 850 in a double room (DUS). The full balance is due 60 days before departure. The tour is costed on a minimum of five (5) people travelling and is limited to twenty (20) places. Subject to final tour numbers the price may vary slightly. You will be notified immediately of any change.

• Transfers from and to Rome's Fiumicino Airport

• All land travel within Italy by air-conditioned coach

• Accommodation and breakfasts for fourteen nights

• Excellent meals of fresh local produce every day at the accommodation

• Two cooking classes with lunch included

• Truffle gathering in a forest overlooking Spoleto incl. lunch

• Additional restaurant meals in Montefalco, Orvieto, Bevagna, Todi and a winery

• Wine tastings in Montefalco and various local cellars

• A visit to the famous ceramics centre of Deruta

• Guided visits to Bevagna, Spello, Orvieto, Assisi, Perugia, Todi and Gubbio

• Additional visits to Spoleto, Norcia, Montecastello del Vibio and Trevi

• A concert in one of Umbria's ancient venues

• Admission to all galleries, museums and historical sites included in the itinerary

• Background lectures on the art and history of Umbria

• The services of the tour leader throughout the tour