Southern Italy Tour September 1 -10, 2024

Your Life Experience:

Day 1. September 1, Sunday

Arrival and welcome dinner with chef Gregorio and Flavia

• Arrival at the airport, Lamezia Terme (SUF), transfer and check-in to the Rada Siri hotel in Montepaone lido
• Relaxing afternoon in Montepaone lido. Rest, stroll and visit the town, or lay at beach near the hotel
• Dinner at a seaside restaurant, Blanca Cruz in Caminia

Day 2. September 2, Monday

Relaxed aka “piano piano” morning, a day like a real Italian – Traditional Calabrian dinner

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning boat tour on the Ionian sea with prosecco toast
• Lunch at a local seafood restaurant at the beach La Palapa
• Free afternoon at the private beach La Palapa
• Return at the hotel and rest
• Typical dinner at a traditional “trattoria”, Pino – pane e olio
• Return at the hotel in Montepaone lido

Day 3. September 3, Tuesday

Silk nest farm – Gelato tasting in Badolato

Since the twelfth century our peninsula has been the largest producer of silk in Europe. In particular, the production of gold thread flourished mostly in the region of Calabria. The city of Catanzaro was considered the capital of silk, and a production circuit had been formed around it, that traced a so called “Calabrian Silk Route”, a corridor that connected the Tyrrhenian coast to the Ionian coast.

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Morning departure to the “Silk Nest Sericulture” in San Floro
• Tour of the farm and visit the museum
• Farm to table lunch at an organic “KM 0” farm
• Return at the hotel and rest
• 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
• Artisanal gelato tasting in Badolato
• Dinner at a local restaurant in Badolato at “Bacco & Stocco”
• Return at the hotel in Montepaone lido

Day 4. September 4, Wednesday

Tropea

Overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the center of the Costa degli Dei, it is situated on a steep cliff about 60 meters high overlooking the sea. A well-known tourist centre, 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”
• Afternoon in the historical center of the town or at beach
• Return in Montepaone lido
• Dinner by chef Gregorio and his team overlooking the Ionian sea. Here you will meet Gregorio’s huge family, but get ready to speak some Italian with them, or just use your hands!!!

Day 5. September 5, Thursday

EVOO and Wine tasting at “Cantina Statti” – Rustic dinner in a mountain osteria

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. Return to the cantina and wine tasting
• Afternoon visit to the Scolacium Museum and Archeological Park – The Park tells the story of Skylletion, a city of Magna Graecia, 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
• Dinner at a traditional osteria “A Ruga”, with the owner and our friend Maurizio and his family in the old town of Cardinale
• Return at the hotel in Montepaone lido

Day 6. September 6, Friday

Open-air local market – Taormina Sicily

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit to Friday “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
• Late morning departure to cross the Straits of Messina for Sicily. Those who have read The Odyssey will remember what a terrible time Odysseus had getting past Scylla and Charybdis, which flank what is now known as the Straits of Messina. We’ll have an easier time on one of Italy’s famous traghettos. A special tradition that we follow on the boat is to eat an “arancino”. Aficionados throughout Italy actually travel to the ferry solely for a taste of this exclusive delicacy!
• Check-in to the hotel Vello d’Oro in Taormina
• Visit the center of historic Taormina, established in 358 BC, and free time begins. The ancient city is surrounded by incredible beauty and is situated on a bluff, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and Europe’s most active volcano, Mt. Etna. Shopping in Taormina is a sogno siciliano–a Sicilian Dream!
• Free time in Taormina
• Dinner at a local sicilian restaurant
• Overnight at the hotel in Taormina

Day 7. September 7, Saturday

Taormina free time.

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Free time to explore Taormina, including some of the most precious and intact Roman and Ancient Greek ruins outside of Greece, including the Greek Theater (300BC), Palazzo Corvaja (10th centry), the Duomo (13th century), and much more. After you’ve fulfilled your cultural fix, shop in some of the hundreds of stores and stop for aperitifs and gelato and cannoli everywhere! Enjoy the sights and shopping of Taormina because both are endless!!!
• Lunch open
• Free afternoon
• Dinner open
• Overnight at the hotel in Taormina

Day 8. September 8, Sunday

Artisan Cannoli Tasting – Scilla Calabria – Calabrian dinner

It is said that Tyrrhenian pirates were the first to settle this coastal area in 493 BC, but others claim it was already settled during the time of the Trojan wars in the 12th century BC. The town of Scilla has ancient origins that relate mainly to the period of the destruction of Troy and invokes the myths and legends of Ulysses with Scylla and Charybdis, of Homer and Dante Alighieri. Its name derives from the mythological figure of Scylla, a young nymph who refused Glauco’s love. He thus went to the sorceress Circe, who was in love with him, and asked her to help him win Scylla’s heart. The offended sorceress poisoned the sea-pool where the nymph used to bathe, turning her into a horrific six dog-headed monster who destroyed every ship crossing the Strait of Messina. Scylla is said to live in the rock of Scilla, which the Castello di Ruffo sits on.

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Late morning departure for Messina, where we stop for a visit to a pasticceria (a pastry laboratory) to taste the famous Cannoli.
• Cannoli tasting
• Seafood lunch at a local restaurant in Scilla
• Return to the hotel in Montepaone
• Dinner in at a local restaurant in Satriano “A Picocca”

Day 9. September 9, Monday

Cooking lesson with chef Gregorio – Serra San Bruno the town of churches – Pizza party.

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
• 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 Montepaone and pizza party at a local pizzeria near our hotel
• Overnight at the hotel in Montepaone lido

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 $250 administration fee until 60 days prior to start date.

PRICE INCLUDES:

9 nights accommodations at 3 Star hotels in Calabria and Sicily; Transfers from and to the airport; Breakfast every day; Aperitivo all’ Italiana; 8 Lunches (includes wine pairings with meal); 8 Dinners (includes wine pairings with meal); Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; Dinner in the Field at a special location; Dinner at Agriturismo; Mediterranean Dinner Feast; Dinner at local Sicilian Trattoria; Dinner at ICI; Pasta and Pizza party; Dinner in the Field at the Organic Farm; Cannoli and Arancini tasting at a pasticceria in Messina; All ground transfers listed in the itinerary, including airport transfers; All tours and dining listed in the itinerary; Ferry to Sicily; English/Italian speaking guides throughout the trip; All cooking lessons; Tax and VAT included; All gratuities are included.