The Unplugged Collection - Umbria™

Join us in one of the most luxurious properties in Umbria for a week of cooking and relaxation.  The experience is set at a luxury villa property known for its dreamy location, serene surroundings, and spa.  As life’s demands increase, so does our own need to disconnect from the hectic lifestyle and reconnect with our soul.  Experience a week of pampering and total relaxation in this one-of-a-kind Unplugged Collection cooking-and-spa vacation, and rediscover the delights of a quiet morning spent reading, strolling through fields of lavender, vineyards, and olive orchards, or sitting by the swimming pool and soaking up the sun.

We invite you to join us in healthy cooking classes, exceptional Umbrian cuisine, and wine from the cellars.  Relax, unwind, and unplug at the resort and spa property set in the verdant hills of Umbria.  Surrounded by cypress, olive trees, and rolling hills where Mother Nature is at her best, this villa is set in the most beautiful location away from the hustle and bustle.  Slip into a blissful world of total relaxation in the green heart of Umbria, a true healthy culinary retreat that visitors adore.

Umbria, known as Italy’s Green Heart, offers dazzling views of centuries-old villages perched atop sleepy hilltops and myriad vineyards producing award-winning wines and olive oil.  During your stay, you may visit Assisi, Perugia, Spoleto, Montefalco, Orvieto, and Gubbio – known for pottery, wine, lentils, and truffles.  In addition to the vast beauty, Umbria’s peaceful atmosphere is home to some of Italy’s most important saints:  Saints Benedict, Clare, Rita, Valentine, and, most famous of all, Saint Francis of Assisi.  Learn about the ancient recipes that were once used by the nuns and monks who were the best chefs and pastry makers, making liqueurs, wine, and baked goods.

During your week in Umbria, you’ll not only learn the traditions and culture of this region, but you’ll participate in hands-on cooking classes preparing authentic and typical Umbrian cuisine. This is one of the most authentic cooking retreats Italy has to offer. Here in the kitchen, the focus is on farm-to-table ingredients used in authentic seasonal recipes. The property has its own organic vegetable garden and supplies our chef with in-season vegetables and fruits. The region is also known for cold cuts, prosciutto, pork sausages, wild boar salami, pancetta, and dried sausages, along with Pecorino cheese, Castelluccio lentils, famous Perugia chocolate, and truffles that are thinly sliced over pasta and risotto.

Umbria is also one of Italy’s most prized olive oil producers, and this property is no exception to the rule.  Extra virgin first-cold-pressed olive oil is produced on the property and is used in cooking.  The property also boasts an extensive cantina featuring biodynamic and organic wine.  White wines include Trebbiano, Verdello, Grechetto, Drupeggio, and Malvasia, and the red wine grape variety is Sangiovese, although Gamay, Canaiolo, Trebbiano, and Sagrantino.  The Sagrantino grape variety is native to the region found in the hillsides of Montefalco.

When you are not cooking, slip into the Umbria Spa, located in the property’s 18^th-century limonaia, a greenhouse built to protect lemon trees and encircled by the tranquil, idyllic gardens.  You’ll be pampered by the professional staff offering treatments with organic cream, oils, and scrubs infused with lavender, chamomile, sage, and lemon oil.  Let your cares melt away as you enjoy the two spa treatments included in your program while surrounded by Italian beauty. The wellness center offers a tepidarium, a Turkish bath, sauna, hydrotherapy, and a variety of massages with other luxury treatments. You may also add on additional spa treatments at your leisure.

A private driver and car service can always be added on to whisk you to any one of the nearby towns or cities, including Perugia, Assisi, Pienza, Cortona, or Lake Trasimeno.  We can help plan those additional day trips during your stay.

Umbria Villa Accommodations

The luxurious villa is set on acres of private vineyards, gardens, and green rolling hills, making it the perfect oasis of beauty.  The property once belonged to an 18^th-century aristocratic family, and today, the villa and expansive grounds maintain their original grandeur.

Each room, from classic to suite, is decorated with Italian furnishings while Umbrian tiles line the floor.  Every room is furnished with modern, comfortable bedding dressed with Italian linens from Montefalco.  The color scheme throughout is a soft one with earthy tones of tan, green, and cream.  Each room also has a relaxing sitting area, complete with armchairs and flat-screen HD televisions. Each luxurious room has an en-suite bathroom with a spacious shower or bathtub stocked with natural spa soap and shampoo products.  Delight your soul and pamper your stay with complimentary access to the indoor heated pool, solarium terrace, Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, and fountains overlooking the Umbrian hills.  There is a tennis court, an organic vegetable garden, along with a gourmet restaurant, outdoor bistro, and wine cellar on site!  The property is surrounded by vineyards and olive oil orchards that produce a small amount of organic extra-virgin olive oil reserved for guests and used in the kitchen.  Daily breakfast includes a hearty fare of local Umbrian delights such as artisan bread, country eggs, prosciutto, cheese, fruit, traditional cakes and biscotti, espresso, cappuccino, tea, and juice.

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Unplugged Umbrian Cooking

Tie on your apron and learn the art of Umbrian under the guidance of your chef.  Each cooking class includes the preparation of local in-season ingredients.  Let’s start with antipasto, such as Umbrian lentil soup, toasted bruschette with garlic, tomatoes, or chicken liver paté, or even sformatino di fave e pecorino, a baked fava bean and pecorino custard.  Next, learn how to mix and roll out pasta served with mushrooms, seasonal vegetables, meat sauce, and, when in season, truffles.  You will also learn how to prepare classic funaro pasta with porcini, stringozzi with wild asparagus, or umbrici con sugo finto, umbrici pasta with a special secret recipe sauce and pecorino.  Main courses favor simply prepared rabbit or pork – stuffed with wild fennel and garlic with a Sagrantino wine sauce.  Fish is also plentiful, featuring baccalà with chickpeas and rosemary.  There are lots of vegetarian options too, thanks to the fertile fields of this region growing vegetables and grains in all four seasons. And each cooking class has a sweet ending with delicious desserts such as: budino di castagne, cold chestnut pudding, amaretti and chocolate tartlets, or the famous torzetti – almond biscuits perfect for dunking in a glass of chilled Sagrantino wine.  Following each cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the class with local red or white wine.  Special gluten-free and vegetarian menus are always available upon request.  Experience a true Italian cooking retreat with cooking and relaxation.

Perugia

Perugia, the capital of Umbria, is a town steeped in its ancient past. It is home to the 14^th-century University of Perugia, one of Italy’s oldest and most well-respected educational institutions, a weave of ancient architecture and caffès that bustle with life morning till night. The town’s Piazza IV Novembre is surrounded by splendid ancient buildings and monuments.  Landmarks include the Fontana Maggiore, a medieval fountain that was built in the 12^th century by sculptors Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, known for its art, and the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Perugia’s Gothic cathedral. There are endless bars, caffès and trattorias where you can take a front row seat on the terrace, order an aperitivo, Prosecco, spritz or vino bianco, and watch the world go by. Explore Perugia’s rich history with cooking classes of typical Umbrian fare.  Perugia is also nicknamed the Chocolate City thanks to Perugina, a chocolate producer that makes the iconic Baci.  The Baci chocolate is filled with one hazelnut, and is wrapped in a poetic note written by famous Italians. Perugia is also home to Eurochocolate, an international festival dedicated to everything chocolate.

Assisi

Step back into time when you stroll through Assisi, the birthplace of Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order and one of the most popular Italian saints in history.  The 13^th-century Basilica di San Francesco is adorned with frescoes painted by a young Giotto, depicting the life of Saint Francis. You may also visit Saint Francis in the crypt, or meander through its outside areas and inside halls. Assisi is also home to Rocca Maggiore, a medieval fortress, and the Basilica di Santa Chiara.  This quaint village charms with its stone pathways, trattorias, artisan shops, and Montefalco linens.

Spello

Spello is a charming medieval town known for its stone houses framed by endless flower boxes always filled with flowers. There is even a competition called infiorata, where residents compete for the most beautiful flower display throughout the summer months.  Cobblestone footpaths, where no cars are allowed,d weave through this ancient, picturesque town.  There are trattorias, gelato shops, wine bars, and artisan shops selling Deruta ceramics and olive oil.  Spello is also an interesting stop for every food lover.  Landmarks include the Cappella Tega, a small chapel with frescoes from the XIV century, and the Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore, dating back to the 1200s and famous for the masterpieces by Pinturicchio and Perugino. Spello is also noted for its ancient walls:  the Augustan gates (Porta Urbica, Porta Consolare, and Porta Venere); the remains of the amphitheatre and spa, and the Villa of Mosaics. There’s the church of Santa Maria Maggiore with the Baglioni Chapel, admirably frescoed by Pinturicchio, the church of Sant’Andrea from the 13th century, and the Church of San Lorenzo. Just outside the town’s walls, visit the Arch of Augustus, the Subasio theatre, and the Vallegloria monastery, in Contrada Prato. Set on Mount Subasio, Spello offers a panoramic viewpoint overlooking Umbrian green hills, olive orchards, and fields of faro, once ruled by the Romans.

Itinerary ~ 5 Days, 4 Nights

Day One:  Check In & Welcome Dinner Featuring Chef’s Tasting Menu

• Arrival transfer with pick up at Perugia Train Station, and check into our Umbria Unplug Collection cooking program.
• Check into the property and  your Cooking Vacations Welcome Bag with Prosecco.
• Welcome Dinner including a Chef’s Tasting dinner with a full-course menu featuring local fare with a toast of wine included.

Day Two: Spa Treatment 1 & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, check into the spa for an unforgettably serene morning. Choose from a variety of massages or treatments and forget about the outside world, soaking up the beauty of the surrounding Italian gardens in the private chalet-like structure.  Enjoy a natural tea from the tea bar and enjoy your treatment.
• In the afternoon, tie on your apron and get cooking in your first hands-on traditional Umbrian cooking class creating a full course dinner.  Dinner follows and includes the foods that were made in the cooking class with a a toast of wine included.

Day Three: Visit Assisi and Spello, and Wine Tasting with Umbrian Dinner 

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver for a full day excursion to Assisi and Spello. Discover the two Umbrian towns with your driver.  Spello, nestled  between Assisi and Foligno, holds the prestigious honor as being awarded one of  “The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy” group thanks to its natural beauty, culture and heritage.  This small village is picturesque and famous for its colorful flower boxes that adorn homes, shops, wine bars and restaurants.   You will also visit Assisi, home to Saint Francis.  Explore this beautiful home to the The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi and brimming with small shops, beautiful restaurants, and churches.  
  Following your day tour, return to the villa.
• Later afternoon, get ready for our wine introduction and tasting tour!  Under the expert tutelage of the villa’s sommelier, you will sample the finest wines the Umbrian region has to offer.
• Dinner follows and includes a Chef’s Tasting Diner featuring a full course Umbrian menu, with wine included.

Day Four: Spa Treatment 2 & Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, relax and check into the spa for your second treatment.
• Lunch is on your own
• Later in the afternoon, tie on your apron for Cooking Class 2.  You’ll prepare a traditional menu using the freshest ingredients from the property’s organic garden.  Dinner follows and includes the foods that were made in the cooking class with a toast of local wine.

Day 5: Check out & Arrivederci

• Check out and transfer to Perugia train station.
• Arrivederci Umbria!