Secret corners of Umbria
Umbria is only region of Italy landlocked by other Italian regions. This small, lovely land, often referred as the green heart of the Italian peninsula, has no coastal paths, but only hills and lush green countryside. Its territory is deeply connected to a long standing food tradition, which will lead you to discover the simplicity of its culinary roots with extensive history in the past and its “nose” scenting out the future. This tour your will guide you through an Italian region still unknown to most. A land of saints, artists and delicious food. The tour is perfect balance between walking, sightseeing and welcoming people, who will be teaching you the art of making home made pasta. You will be able to bring home with you the secrets of making a perfect sauce along with how to prepare a perfect Italian meal. Umbria is the ideal place for soaking the Italian experience, large valleys designed by rivers, lakes and waterfalls; hills often surrounded by villages and castles, crossed by paths full of history, art and culture, this and much more is awaiting for you.
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Tour Features
- Fully guided tour of Umbria
- Small group travel: maximum group size is 12 guests.
- Guaranteed departure dates
- UNESCO World heritage sites
- Accompanied by a Tour manager throughout your journey
- Tour cost includes entrance fees to main sites/museums
- Private 17-seater minibus
- Tour cost includes all hotel city taxes
- Guided tour of the Vatican Museums in Rome
- Visit to Marmore Waterfall the highest in Europe
- Winery visit with wine tasting
- Truffle hunt
- A boat trip to the Umbrian small lake of Piediluco
- Cooking class with a local nonna
- Special cooking class of Italian-Kosher cuisine in Rome
- Guided tour of the beautiful frescoes and churches of Umbria
- Guided visit of Aventino hill in Rome, traditionally considered the site of Remus’ tomb.
- Guided visit to the small, little unknown Umbria villages to discover their secrets.
- Visit to a cashmere factory
- Visit to delightful roman mosaics in Bevagna
- 2 nights in a charming small hotel in the little town of Montefalco
- 3 nights in a family-run converted mill with swimming pool
- 2 nights in a cosy hotel in the centre of Rome
- All lunches/breakfast
- Evening meals with drinks
- Arrival/Departure airport for this tour: Rome Fiumicino airport
- Transfers and pick-ups/drop-offs from/to the main airport of arrival on the day of arrival/departure of the tour are included
- Some walking involved – you should be able to walk 5 kilometres without difficulty.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival and onward to Montefalco
Drive from Rome airport – less than two hours – to Montefalco .
Depending on the arrival time – visit Museum Chiesa S. Francesco with the frescoes from Perugino and Benozzo Gozzoli , walk around Montefalco also called the balcony of Umbria, aperitivo in the hotel. Dinner in a local restaurant ( if time we can visit a olive farm).
Day 2
Guided tour of Bevagna & Assisi
Visit the Roman mosaics, morning Tour of Bevagna and visit to the cashmere factory – We then drive to Spello,where we visit Cappella Baglioni e the beautiful frescos by Pinturicchio and Chiesa di S Andrea. We then head to Assisi and visit the Basilica di S Francesco, S Chiara Minerva’s Temple and Piazza del Comune, then the Sanctuary of “Eremo delle Carceri”. Dinner in another local restaurant
Day 3
Truffle hunting
From Montefalco we drive south to the little hamlet of Cesi where we spend the next three nights, leave our bags and go for a truffle hunt following a picnic based on what we hunted. Visit to the close archeological site of Carsulae. Possible to visit Grotta Eolia and Palazzo Spada Stocchi. This cave system reputed to be the place in which, according to Livy, the Romans executed some 2,000 Umbrian “free-booters” in 303 BC, at the start of the Third Samnites War.
Dinner in the Hotel.
Day 4
Cooking class with a local “nonna” and boat trip on lake Piediluco
Cooking class which involves cooking the recipes of the day and eating it for lunch afterwards.
In the afternoon we take the boat to do a tour around the lake Piediluco, it gives a good prospective of the lake and its surroundings. At one time the lake was part of a much larger lake, known from Roman times as “Lacus Velinus” or Lake Velino. Lake Piediluco was formed as a result of cuts downstream from the lake that drained the waters of Lake Velino into the lower Nera River, which also created the Cascata delle Marmore waterfall. Lake Piediluco is the site of the Italian National Rowing Center, which hosts many training and competition events at the national, European, and international level.
We then drive back to the Cascata delle Marmore to the main entrance and walk a small path to see the major falls. Dinner in a local restaurant or the hotel.
Day 5
Todi & a local wine tasting
Todi – Monte Castello di Vibio. In the morning we drive from Cesi to Monte Castello di Vibio, a small hamlet, host to a mix of medieval and renaissance buildings, landmarks and monuments that have been preserved over the centuries and enjoy the lovely view of the valley from there. Monte Castello is also famous for the production of olive oil. We then head to Todi, where we visit the beautiful church of Bramante school , the town centre and it’s medieval square with Palazzo dei Priori. Lunch and wine tasting at Roccafiore. Back to the Hotel dinner in a local restaurant or in the Hotel
Day 6
Private visit in the Vatican museum
We leave for Rome drop our bags in our hotel and head to the Vatican Museum for our private visit. Start 18:30 .Late dinner in a local Trattoria
Day 7
Kosher cooking class in the Roman Ghetto
Ghetto – Italian Kosher cuisine cooking class. Lunch. Rome Roseto- Giardino Aranci -Aventino Dinner in a restaurant
Day 8
Homeward
Back to the airport
Departure transfers to Rome airport and flights back home.
Please note: this is the standard itinerary, but individual tour programmes may differ slightly to take account of local festivals, closing times and availability.
see photo gallery of this tour
