Welcome to Italy!

A private group vehicle will pick you up at the Rome Fiumincino Airport and bring you to Vasto, an ancient Roman town on the Adriatic Coast. We will drive across beautiful mountains, past amazing green landscapes filled and hilltops dotted with castles and small villages.

We will check-in at the charming, family-run Hotel dei 7 (or a similar accommodation) in the historical center of Vasto.

You will get to know Fabrizio, your personal guide for the week and learn more about the cultural and culinary vacation ahead!

In the evening, we’ll walk into the heart of Vasto to enjoy a welcome group dinner at a traditional restaurant.

Included meals: Dinner

Explore Vasto & Cooking Class with Mamma

We’ll stroll through Vasto’s colorful market to shop for fresh seasonal food and you’ll have the opportunity to practice a little bit of Italian!

Next, we’ll drive into the beautiful countryside to the home of Fabrizio’s family, where we’ll learn to make fresh pasta and be introduced to the iconic sauces of the region in an exclusive cooking class. A sample menu based on seasonal availability with Fabrizio’s family recipes might include: bread with meat sauce, pasta alla Chitarra with meat sauce and polpette (meatballs) and Tarallucci (specialty biscuits).

We’ll indulge in a leisurely lunch of the scrumptious dishes that we prepared in the morning, while enjoying the relaxing family atmosphere Italy is known for.

After a short, relaxing break, we’ll explore Vasto’s historic center: Loggia Amblingh, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the old town with its medieval castle, and charming lanes, the cathedral and Piazza Rossetti. This cathedral and plaza are dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti, a famous poet from the area.

You’ll enjoy some free time to independently continue your exploration of our wonderful home base. Dinner will be on your own for this evening. (Based on our many years of experience, after our big family lunch, we know nobody will be hungry for another rich dinner!) Fabrizio will offer suggestions of his favorite places based on your personal preferences.

Meals: Breakfast, Cooking Lesson, Lunch

Trabocchi Coast & the Abbey of San Giovanni

After breakfast, we’ll explore the famous Trabocchi coast. We’ll start with a short and easy walk inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve--one of the 12 most beautiful Italian beaches, according to National Geographic. From there, you can also glimpse the snow-capped peaks of Italy’s Apennine Mountain range.

Next, we’ll visit a “trabocco.” Built mostly with acacia wood and railway iron sleepers, these unique fishing platforms have become a symbol of the region. We’ll learn more about them from our host, Rinaldo, as well as, the secrets and history behind a particular trabocco that has been featured in the BBC TV show: “Escape to the Continent.”

Weather permitting, we’ll help Rinaldo fish!

We’ll then enjoy a delicious seafood lunch, prepared exclusively for us by Rinaldo’s wife, Maria, and dine al fresco on our perch overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

In the afternoon, you can relax, or wander around this magnificent coastal area --a popular location for taking photographs, by both professionals and amateurs alike.

On our drive back to Vasto, we’ll visit the enchanting Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere, part of an ancient 13th century monastery located on a hillside facing the sea. The abbey dominates the coastline and is surrounded by orange, olive, oak and pine trees

We’ll dine together in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

FATTORIA D’ARTE

After breakfast, we’ll drive to the little hilltop village of Lentella and visit our friend Ettore’s home and art studio known as “Fattoria d’Arte”.

Surrounded by an amazing landscape with a stunning view of the sea, mountains, hills, and small towns, Ettore, will teach you to create your very own picture postcard made using the natural pigments produced by combining the leaves and flowers that we’ll pick ourselves on Ettore’s property!

We’ll enjoy an aperitif and a traditional lunch with Ettore, and his wife, Barbara, before heading back to home base.

We know that downtime is important while traveling. Might we suggest you take this afternoon to live like an Italian? Slow down, look around, see the sights, speak to the locals, be guided by your own desires. You might choose to go to one of the many area beaches, visit Vasto’s museums, check out the local art galleries, do a little shopping or simply stroll the “piazza” taking in the relaxing Vasto vibe. Depending on what’s currently available, you might ask Fabrizio if are any optional local activities in which you might wish to participate.

Dinner is on your own this evening.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

“Agriturismo,” Farm-to-Table Lunch & Roccascelegna

After breakfast, we’re off to the farmhouse owned by Pina and Berardino who will welcome us to genuine “agriturismo” and share some of what makes their process of food production so unique. Maybe you’ll simply choose to relax in the beautiful Abruzzo countryside. Or you might opt to take part in a typical everyday activity—like milking a cow! Get ready to immerse yourself in an authentic slow food experience. We’ll learn how to make a special pizza called “pizza scima” (stupid pizza), with its crust made without yeast.

We’ll try some organic wine from their winery and enjoy an aperitif as we sample cheeses, salami, and extra virgin olive oil.

Next, we’ll learn how to prepare ricotta cheese, collect fresh vegetables from the garden, and prepare for our farm-to-table lunch. Almost everything we’ll eat is produced on the farm. Organic flour, fresh pasta farm-fresh eggs collected from their hens, organic extra virgin olive oil, wines, liquors, juices, jams, cheeses, as well as an assortment of salami, meats, and vegetables).

In the afternoon, we’ll take a scenic drive inland to explore the enchanting Abruzzo’s Castle in the Sky in the charming village of Roccascalegna, ranked by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the “Nine Most Beautiful Hilltop Towns in Italy.”

After our big lunch at the farm, you’ll be on your own in the evening for dinner, where you may choose to enjoy dinner or an aperitif at one of the many authentic restaurants and wine bars in Vasto.

Meals: Breakfast, Cooking, Tasting, Lunch

Wine & Olive Oil tasting, Farewell Family Party

After breakfast, we’ll visit the olive grove that’s been in Giovanni’s family for the last three generations, know for their specialty olive oils. Giovanni will reveal the secrets of what Homer called “liquid gold.” Of course we’ll conclude our visit with an olive oil tasting.

Next, we’ll visit an award-winning winery situated between a marine park and the mountains. We’ll enjoy a wine tasting and lunch with pairings of local cheeses and meats before touring the vineyard and cellars with noted winemakers, Emanuele and Nicola.

After lunch you may use this free afternoon to relax or pack, and, maybe, do some last-minute shopping.

We’ll enjoy a farewell party hosted by Fabrizio’s family and enjoy regional wines and wonderful food in a familial atmosphere. You might choose to help Rosa to make tiramisù or a Margherita pizza, or sit back and relax with a glass of wine. We’ll relish our final dinner together, with the small group who came as strangers and leave as family.

Meals: Breakfast, Tasting, Lunch, Cooking, Dinner

Arrivederci!

After breakfast, we will leave around 9:00 AM for Rome Fiumicino airport or your next destination, approximately 3.5 hrs from Vasto. Please plan. your flights and travel plans accordingly.