The luxury hotel, set like a diamond with a clear view of the Island of Capri, is in the sea-side town of Praiano. It is situated among the beautiful inlets of the breathtaking Amalfi Coast, a treasure of the UNESCO Heritage Foundation. Once a small fishing village, the prestigious resort is only 4 km from Positano, and just 9 km from Amalfi. The hotel is a typical Mediterranean-style building overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Your cooking, art and touring week will bring you thoughout the Amalfi Coast via land and sea and into the kitchen with Executive Chefs Carmine, Ciro and Salvatore for an exclusive Cooking Vacations experience.

Praiano
This sea-side town, the quiet neighbor to the famous Positano is situated in the heart of the Amalfi Coast. From Praiano, the views you enjoy span all of Positano all along the coast to the Faraglioni and mountaintops of Capri. Praiano also boasts incredible panoramic sunsets, as its position allows the orange sun to set leisurely over the water rather than disappearing early behind the mountain as in other towns along this splendid coast.

Praiano was once the summer residence of the wealthy dogi, dukes, of the Amalfi Maritime Republic, during the 10th and 11th centuries. It later became a flourishing center for silk trade and manufacturing. Thanks to its natural wonders including the coved fisherman’s beach la Praia and the Emerald Grotto, Praiano today enjoys a quiet though flourishing tourist industry. Had George Clooney bought the villa he looked at in Praiano instead of Lago Maggiore, Praiano would surely be a different place today, however it remains a peaceful haven in the heart of the Amalfi Coast.

The Grotta dello Smeraldo, the Emerald Grotto lies just on the edge of Praiano. This natural cavern was once a dry cave, but the changes in the currents and land formations have allowed in the Mediterranean waters. At its highest point the cavern is over 75 feet high with stalactites splaying down toward the sunshine that enters from a tunnel under the water. With the light entering from below, the Emerald Grotto lives up to its name, as you enter the blue waters turn to turquoise then to the brightest emerald green deeper into the cavern.

Cooking Classes
The Executive chefs will take you through a fabulous culinary trip focusing on typical local dishes. The team includes, Chef Carmine, who will show you how to prepare traditional regional cuisine blended with modern touches. Chef Ciro, who will amaze you with his artistic talents; and Chef Salvatore, who will tempt you with irresistible desserts that look too good to eat!

Every class is hands-on and you have the opportunity to learn from these master chefs in a way that allows you to bring your new skills home with you. Along with every dish you prepare, you taste local Campania wines and learn about wine pairings with the foods you make and serve.

Accommodations
The luxury 4 star hotel offers spectacular views and the highest quality service. Your sea-view superior double room is equipped with all modern amenities including air conditioning, mini bar, satellite TV, telephone and personal belongings safe. Your private bathroom is tiled in hand-painted ceramic tiles from the Amalfi Coast town of Vietri Sul Mare. From your sea-view balcony you have expansive views of the Li Galli Islands, the mythical islands of Ulysses’ deadly beautiful sirens, and the Faraglioni rocks off the southern tip of Capri.

Itinerary
7 days, 6 nights

Day One:
Arrival and Welcome Aperitivo and Dinner

• Pick up at the airport/station in Naples or Salerno.
• Arrival at hotel with time to relax.
• Welcome aperitivo, cocktail such as a dry and bubbly prosecco or rich red campari, as you start to settle in to your Amalfi Coast week.
• 8 pm: Welcome Dinner with Tasting Menu. Meet your hosts for the week and enjoy the sunset over the sea.

• Breakfast is served.
• 9 am: First ceramic lesson with Master Ventura. Master Ventura will teach you the secrets of hand-painted ceramics, a precious tradition of the coast. Learn the meaning of the pastoral scenes, types of fish and animals and the colors used in this artisan craft.
• Boat excursion of the coast, departing from La Praja beach, with a visit to the Emerald Grotto (weather permitting). The Grotta dello Smeraldo, the Emerald Grotto lies just on the edge of Praiano. This natural cavern was once a dry cave, but the changes in the currents and land formations have allowed in the Mediterranean waters. At its highest point the cavern is over 75 feet high with stalactites splaying down toward the sunshine that enters from a tunnel under the water. With the light entering from below, the Emerald Grotto lives up to its name, as you enter the blue waters turn to turquoise then to the brightest emerald green deeper into the cavern.
• Also, along your boat tour, stop in the neighboring town, of Positano. Positano, la citta’ verticale, the vertical city, famous for its geographical landscape and infinite palate of colors, has attracted writers, artists and musicians throughout time. Vertical stairways meander upward amid the whitewashed houses sit facing the sea. Houses colored of salmon, corn yellow and ice blue were painted so fishermen would recognize their home from the sea. This once sleepy fishing town, discovered by American soldiers after World War II, is now a famous seaside resort attracting millionaire yachts and Hollywood starlets. Small artisan shops, still enthusiastic about their craft, producing one-of-a-kind clothing, Positano moda, handcrafted gold, and hand-made ceramics line the narrow streets. Cafes spill out on sidewalks with colorful tables and umbrellas, while the pedestrian-only walkway, leads to the coast’s most breathtaking beaches. Prettier than any painting, Positano’s magic affects everyone. Visit the well-known town with free time for shopping.
• 5 pm: Visit the local Limoncello and liquor factory in Praiano. Limoncello, a bright yellow liquor made from the peals of lemons is native to the Amalfi Coast. The sfusato amalfitano lemon offers its perfume in the skin and less juice inside, the opposite of the more exported Sicilian lemons. These Amalfi Coast lemons are usually as large as your hand with a thick, bumpy, imperfect skin, that offers all of its aroma to flavor the limoncello liquor.
• 8 pm: Dinner is served.

• Breakfast is served.
• 9 am: Meet your Master ceramist for your second lesson of Amalfi Coast ceramics. Paint dishes, mugs, espresso tazzine, traditional olive oil pitchers and more.
• 11 am: Transfer to Amalfi with free time to visit the town and its monuments: the Duomo of Sant’ Andrea, the Paradise Cloister, and the Arsenals that once held the ships of the Amalfi Maritime Republic. Amalfi was the capital of The Maritime Republic, an important trading power in the Mediterranean, between 839 and 1200. The 11th century Cathedral of Saint Andrea dominates the main piazza. The saint’s relics were brought from Constantinople to Amalfi by the Amalfitan Cardinal of Capua, Pietro, in 1210, after the completion of the town's cathedral.
• Amalfi’s ancient stone streets are lined with quaint shops & cafés that spill out onto its sidewalks. Merchants display their wares of herbs & spices, sun-dried tomatoes, artisan jewelry, handcrafted shoes, Amalfi paper, and local lemon soaps & liqueurs outside in woven baskets and hanging in windows. If you veer off the main walkway, you will loose yourself in a labyrinth of narrow arabesque pathways that boast a Moorish construction of domed archways and buildings created by the first traders to the city.
• Once a major trading town of sea merchants from Africa, the Orient & Europe, Amalfi still has a mystical ambiance of the past. Lunch on your own before returning to Praiano.
• 3:30 pm: Meet with the Chefs for your first cooking lesson dedicated to the art of handmade pasta and sauces. From scialatielli to gnocchi, farfalle to tagliatelle, Italy has over 1000 different types of pasta, leaving the possibilities endless for the food lover. Traditional sauces of the Coast include pomodorini freschi, fresh cherry tomatoes sautéed with garlic and basil, zucchini, fried or sautéed zucchini with onion, basil and grated Parmesan cheese, among many others.
• 6 pm: Visit of the Saracen tower in Praiano to see artisan Master Santulli’s masterpieces. These towers once dotted the coast just far enough apart that watchmen could yell to each other to warn of invading pirates. Several of these towers remain along the Amalfi Coast
• 8 pm: Dinner on the foods prepared in class. Everyone enjoys the fruits of their labor with a toast of local wine.

• Breakfast is served.
• Excursion to the hill-top town of Agerola, home of fresh made Mozzarella, to visit a mozzarella cheese maker. These hills produce the buffalo milk mozzarella and cow’s milk fior di latte that is shipped throughout Italy. On the way back, stop at Furore, known as the Painted Village and see world-renowned vineyards spread over the terraced hillside.
• (Other options: guests can choose to have a free day to visit Sorrento, Pompeii, or Napoli, all easily accessible by public transportation, or take a boat from Positano to Capri, or from town walk up the Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods, that leads to the monastery of San Domenico.)
• 3:30 pm: Second cooking class with the Chefs. You will learn how to make Neapolitan Pizza like the famous Margherita, in the colors of the Italian Flag. Also whip up a second course around local fish of the season. Grilled with lemon, sautéed or served in acqua pazza are just a few of the ways your Chef’s teach you to prepare the fresh catch of the day.
• 8 pm: Dinner follows with the foods prepared in class. Toast your creations with local Campania wines paired to match the dishes you make.

• Breakfast is served.
• Excursion with your private driver along the Amalfi Coast up to Ravello with private guide. According to André Gide, Ravello is “set closer to the sky than the sea.” Host to one of today’s most famous summer music festivals in Italy, Ravello was once the suburb for the very wealthy of the Amalfi Maritime republic of the 12th century. These merchants and businessmen built their villas way above the seaside Amalfi, to keep an eye on things below. Ravello was re-discovered by the English vacationers over 100 years ago who awed at its beauty. Just off the main piazza, visit the Villa Rufolo. Built in the 12th century with Arab-influenced architecture, this villa was the inspiration for Wagner’s opera Parsifal, and the Ravello Summer Music Festival is held on its garden terraces. Continue up to the Villa Cimbrone, with its rose gardens and blue panorama made famous by Greata Garbo, who stayed at the Villa Cimbrone in 1937 when she eloped with orchestra conductor, Leopold Stokowsky. Today the Villa Cimbrone is a working hotel and well worth the visit.
• On your way back to Praiano, visit a local wine factory for a free tasting of local Campania and Amalfi Coast wines. Learn the different grape varieties such as falanghina, coda di volpe, aglianico and others that grow in the fertile soil around Mount Vesuvius and the terraced hillsides of the Amalfi Coast.
• 3:30 pm: Meet Chef Salvatore for your third cooking lesson featuring our irresistible dolci, Italian desserts. You learn how to prepare Italy's most prized desserts such as the smooth Mascarpone and espresso Tiramisu’, local favorites such as the flourless chocolate almond caprese cake, the delizia al limone, a light domed cake made with Amalfi Coast lemons and many others.
• 8 pm: Dinner and graduation ceremony with the Chefs. Enjoy the dolci you made in class after dinner and celebrate with your Chefs Carmine, Ciro and Salvatore.

• Breakfast is served.
• Check-out and departure transfer from the hotel to the Naples Airport or Train Station.
• Arrivederci and until you return to Italy!