Your Itinerary:

Day 1. FRIDAY

Arrival and welcome dinner with chef Gregorio Spinzo and his team

• Arrival at the airport, Lamezia Terme (SUF), transfers and check-in to the hotel in Soverato

• Relaxing afternoon in Soverato. Rest, stroll and visit the town, or lay at the private beach near the hotel

• Welcome dinner at a seaside restaurant “Blanca Cruz” in Caminia, with chef Gregorio and his team

Day 2. SATURDAY

Relaxed aka “piano piano” morning, a summer day like an Italian – Authentic Calabrian dinner

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning boat tour on the Mediterranean Sea with “prosecco” toast and Italian snacks

• Lunch at a local seafood restaurant “La Palapa”

• Free afternoon at the private beach “La Palapa”, swimming, sun and rest under the beach umbrellas

• Return at the hotel

• An authentic Calabrian dinner at a traditional “Osteria” with the owner and our friend Maurizio and his family in the old town of Cardinale

Maurizio, our host in his Osteria “A Ruga”. Cardinale

Day 3. SUNDAY

Chef Gregorio’s cooking demo and Sunday family lunch – Gelato tasting in Badolato

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Cooking demo by chef Gregorio and his team, a traditional Calabrian Sunday lunch with chef Gregorio’s family

• Late afternoon departure for Badolato. This town has several Byzantine churches arranged in the shape of a Latin cross, and many small alleyways characteristic of medieval towns. It is an agricultural center for the area on the Ionian side of the Calabrian mountain range, located on the north-western slopes of Mount St. Nicholas. It occupies a spur between two valleys which open out to the coastal plain below

• “Gelateria”. Artisanal gelato tasting in Badolato

• Dinner at a typical restaurant in Badolato at “Bacco & Stocco”

Day 4. MONDAY

Extra virgin olive oil and wine tasting at “Cantina Statti” – Seafood dinner overlooking the Ionian Sea

The ancient name of Calabria, “Enotria Tellus” (Land of Wine), offers a straightforward introduction to this fascinating land, which has always been dedicated to producing wines.

For over two thousand years the agricultural history of Calabria has been entwined with the wine one and since 1700 the family of Barone Statti has been living in the same five hundred hectares. The great variety of the local vines represents a great heritage to be found and valued again.

Statti’s family has been played an important role for Calabrian economy and since now Alberto and Antonio Statti have been choosing to value the deep bond with the history and the tradition of their own land with a look always towards the future and the innovation

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning departure to Cantina Statti

• Visit the olives grove and vineyard. Return to the cantina and wine tasting with lunch

• Afternoon visit to the Scolacium Museum and Archeological Park – The Park tells the story of Skylletion, a city of Magna Grecia, which became a prosperous Roman colony, Scolacium. The site is immersed in a centuries-old olive grove which constitutes the green lung of the province of Catanzaro

• Return at the hotel

• Dinner at a local seafood restaurant in Soverato “Spox” overlooking the sea

Day 5. TUESDAY

Matera. Basilicata – Lecce. Apulia

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Early morning departure to Matera. Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the “Sassi di Matera”. The Sassi originated in a prehistoric troglodyte settlement, and these dwellings are thought to be among the first ever human settlements in what is now Italy. The Sassi are habitations dug into the calcareous rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Apulia.

• Lunch in Matera at a local restaurant

• Afternoon in Matera

• Check-in to the hotel in Lecce

• Dinner at a typical Apulian restaurant

Day 6. WEDNESDAY

Lecce

Lecce is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce, with the second-highest population in the Apulia region. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is nicknamed “The Florence of the South”. “Lecce stone”, a particular kind of limestone, is one of the city’s main exports, because it is very soft and workable, and thus suitable for sculptures. Lecce is also an important agricultural center, chiefly for its olive oil and wine production, as well as an industrial center specializing in ceramics.

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Lecce’s private tour and local street food tasting (burrata, taralli, pasticciotto, puccia, etc etc…)

• Lunch at a traditional Apulian restaurant.

• Free afternoon in Lecce. Shopping and visit the center of the town

• Dinner open. (list of restaurants recommended by chef Gregorio)

Day 7. THURSDAY

Rocca Imperiale

Rocca Imperiale is a town in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region. It is located in the middle of the arc that surrounds the Gulf of Taranto and sits 4 km away from the sea on a hill at the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, which stretches out to the shore that was once the ancient Siritide plain. It is a member of the “I Borghi più belli d’ Italia (“The most beautiful villages of Italy”) association.

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning departure to Calabria

• Stop and visit Rocca Imperiale

• Lunch at a “trattoria” in Rocca Imperiale

• Return at the hotel in Soverato

• Dinner in at a local restaurant in Satriano “A Picocca”

Day 8. FRIDAY

Susan and Ron tasting cheese at the Friday market in the town of Soverato.

Open-air Friday market – Cooking demo – Pizza tasting

The Certosa (a monastery of Carthusian monks) has enormously influenced the architectural development of the town and of the entire area, in fact the presence of craftsmen, wood artists, blacksmiths and decorators were well known. The inhabited area is crossed by the Ancinale river which separates the two districts called. ”Terravecchia” (historical center located in the northern area) and “Spinetto” (built to the south after the 1783 earthquake).

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Visit to “mercatino” of Soverato: a typical Italian open-air market offers culinarians an insight to the country’s most traditional aspects as well as an opportunity to browse foods, cheeses, wines and cured meats that are still produced by artisans. Participants compare and taste the differences between these products and those of the industrial sector

• Food shopping and cooking lesson by Chef Gregorio and his team followed by lunch

• Afternoon departure for Serra San Bruno. Visit the town and the monastery

• Return in Soverato and dinner at a local pizzeria “Alex Viscomi”

Day 9. SATURDAY

Tropea

Overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the center of the Costa degli Dei (Coast of Gods), it is situated on a steep cliff about 60 meters high overlooking the sea. A well-known tourist center, Tropea is part of the circuit of the most beautiful villages in Italy and has been awarded the blue flag for the quality of its waters

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Early morning departure for Tropea

• Swimming in the Tyrrhenian sea

• Lunch at a local seafood restaurant overlooking the sea “Lido Azzurro”

• Late afternoon in the historical center of the town

• Return in Soverato

• Dinner in Soverato at a local restaurant “Da Paolino”

Day 10. SUNDAY

Departure. Arrivederci!

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Departures from the hotel with transfers to the airport SUF (Lamezia Terme). Arrivederci!!!

PAYMENT OPTIONS & INFORMATION:

To sign up for the trip, a 50% deposit is due at registration. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure date.**

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and bank transfers are accepted for deposit and final payment.

*Price does not include airfare or expenses during “free time.”

**Payments are refundable minus a $300 administration fee until 60 days prior to start date.

PRICE INCLUDES:

9 nights accommodations at 3 Star hotels in Calabria and Apulia; Transfers from and to the airport; International breakfast everyday; Aperitivo all’Italiana; 8 Lunches (includes wine pairings with meal); 8 Dinners (includes wine pairings with meal); Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; Dinner at a special location; Dinner at Agriturismo; Mediterranean Dinner Feast; Dinner at local Apulian Trattoria; Pasta and Pizza party; Dinner “alfresco” at the Organic Farm; Wine tasting; All ground transfers listed in the itinerary, including airport transfers; All tours and dining listed in the itinerary; Transfer to Apulia; English/Italian speaking guides throughout the trip; All cooking lessons; Tax and VAT included; All gratuities are included.