Horse & Carriage Ride In The Vinyeard™

Join us at our charming 4- Star Relais Villa for a luxurious stay with hands-on cooking, scenic tours and a spa wellness treatment.  The property is a short drive from the historical center of Perugia set in the cuore verde, green heart, of Umbria.

During your stay learn how to prepare Umbrian recipes with our Michelin-star chef.  You will prepare Umbrian classics from antipasti, fresh pasta, main course to desserts.

When you are not cooking, sip a Montefalco Sagrantino, red, or Palazzone Campo del Guardino Orvieto, white, and experience the exceptional wine of Umbria.  During your stay relax in the spa wellness and enjoy a Finnish sauna, Turkish steam bath with chromotherapy and mini-pool with therapeutic whirlpool while sipping herbal tea from the property’s tea bar.

Umbria

Join us in il cuore verde d’Italia, the green heart of Italy, whose nickname depicts rolling green pastures lined with cypress trees, evergreen landscapes and quaint charming hill towns frozen in time.  Time has passed, but the landscape remains the same, resembling a fresco by Giotto painted in the Basilica of Saint Francis.  Travel along the paths where ancient traditions – agricultural, artistic and spiritual – are experienced in the region’s historic towns.  Visit  fairy tale fortresses, castles and towers and vineyards producing some of Italy’s most prized wines. Discover Italy’s best kept secret – a region known for lentils, artisan cheese and Montefalco wine. Umbria also continues its long and tried tradition of ancient bread making and extra virgin olive oil production. And when the leaves start to change from green to gold, join a truffle hunt for both white and black truffles!

Perugia & Assisi

Perugia, Umbria’s capital, is a modern city known around the world, which still holds on to its ancient past. It is home to the 14th-century University of Perugia, one of Italy’s oldest and most well respected educational institutions, a blend of ancient architecture and student caffès that bustle with life at all hours. The town’s main piazza, Piazza IV Novembre, is surrounded by splendid ancient buildings and is generally thought to be Perugia’s most attractive square.

Landmarks include the Fontana Maggiore, a beautiful medieval fountain that was built in the 12th Century; the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria brimming with local art, and the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Perugia’s gothic cathedral. There are many bars, caffès and trattorias where you can take a front row seat on the terrace and order up an aperitivo, prosecco, spritz or vino bianco and watch the world go by.

Assisi is the birthplace of Saint Francis of Assisi who was the founder of the Franciscan order and one of the most popular saints in history. The 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco is adorned with frescos painted by a young Giotto where he depicts the life of Saint Francis. This basilica also houses Saint Francis in the crypt. Assisi is also home to Rocca Maggiore, a medieval fortress and the Basilica di Santa Chiara.

Umbria Cooking Classes

Tie on your aprons and join Chef Fabio and his team in the kitchen for hands-on cooking in the heart of Umbria. This ancient cuisine originates from its Etruscans, and its recipes passed down through generations. Like all Italian cooking, it is simple, rustic and traditional. Produce, vegetables and fruit are grown on the nearby farms guaranteeing fresh and seasonal farm-to-table products – think wild mushrooms and asparagus, beans, lentils, black and white truffles, farm raised beef and pork who graze in the Umbrian hills.  Duck and wild hare, as well artisan pecorino di Pienza, local sheep’s milk cheese, are also local products used in local cooking. You’ll also discover Umbrian extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin and first-cold-pressed.

Under the guidance of Chef Fabio you’ll learn how to turn simple produce and ingredients into delicious Umbrian cuisine including crostini al tartufo, toasted bread with black or white truffles and extra virgin olive oil, strangozzi, long flat pasta served with black truffles or spicy tomato sauce; pappardelle alla lepre, pasta with a wild rabbit ragù seasoned with bacon and cloves and bringoli al sugo finto, hand-made pasta with tomato sauce. Main courses include pork loin in a crust of herbs, wild rabbit with rosemary, sage and white wine, chicken, porchetta or sausages cooked with grapes.  Every Umbrian dinner ends on a sweet note with Umbrian desserts like pinolate, round biscuits made with almonds and pine nuts, cicerchiata, a honey and almond ring or chiacchiere, flash-fried ribbons of dough.  Following each cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in class with a toast of local red or white wine.

Umbria Accommodations

During your stay, check into our 4-Star Villa, a Relais Guest House, which retains its antique structure adorned with modern restoration, all while respecting its historic past.  The property is simply charming, warm and luxurious!!!  A warm reception and common area welcome you with a professional staff member for all of your needs.  Guest rooms are elegantly furnished with bright modern finishings – hard wood floors and high wood-beamed ceiling with private ensuite bath. Each room is complete with television, telephone, satellite TV, hair drier, Wi-Fi and a safe for valuables.  The property has authentic organic restaurant serving daily breakfast, with a varied assortment of Umbrian cakes, biscotti, breads, jams and cornetti. They also serve lunch and dinner including full course menus of local specialties, along with an extensive wine list. There is also a full-service spa that will wow you to unplug and relax in a Finnish sauna, therapeutic spa shower, Turkish bath with aromatherapy, mini pool with therapeutic hydro-massage, or wine grape massage.  The Wellness Spa offers a complete menu of services with professional certified staff. Nestled in a charming courtyard is the swimming pool.

This elegant property set in the Green Heart of Umbria is the perfect blend of cooking, relaxing and exploring!!!

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Itinerary ~ 5 Days, 4 Nights

Day 1: Arrival & Check In, Welcome Dinner With Chef’s Tasting Menu

• Pick up and transfer from Spoleto Train Station to the property.
• Check in, relax and sit by the outdoor pool (weather permitting) or enjoy time in our Wellness Spa.
• In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with full course Chef’s Menu. Taste Umbria’s rustic fare in the property’s organic restaurant.  Toast of local red or white wine, included.

Day 2:  Wellness Spa & Relax & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, relax and rejuvenate in our Wellness Spa. Let our professional staff pamper you with a relaxing massage, included.  Unwind in our Finnish sauna, therapeutic spa shower, Turkish bath with aromatherapy or mini pool with therapeutic hydromassage.  Sip a cup of herbal tea from the  tea bar. Total Spa time included is 2 hours.
• In the afternoon, your Cooking Class 1. Tie on your apron and head for the kitchen as Chef Marco who shares his favorite Umbrian family recipes. The menu includes an antipasto, such as handmade pasta, main course and dessert.  Dinner follows with everyone sitting at our table, dining on the foods that were prepared in the cooking class.  Toast with a great glass of local red or white wine, included.

Day 3: Truffle Hunt, Ricotta Making Class, and Umbrian Picnic

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, meet your driver for your Truffle Hunt and Ricotta Making Class in the countryside of Norcia.  Once you arrive, meet the Truffle Hunter and Truffle Dog for a hunt through the forest where you will look for truffles while learning about the magical tubers and how Mother Nature grows the precious truffles.
• Following the hunt, continue to the artisan cheese maker and learn how to make creamy ricotta.  Visit the cheese maker with a unique cheese making class.  Discussions and tastings make this learning experience truly authentic.
• Following, enjoy an Umbrian picnic in the forest with tastings of artisan foods.
• In the later afternoon, return to the property.
• Dinner is on your own with suggestions provided or you can dine at the property.

Day 4:  Horse-Drawn Carriage Tour Through the Vineyards with Wine Tasting and Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast,  meet your driver and visit infinite hectares of sun-drenched vineyards overlooking the Assisi Valley in a carriage pulled by majestic horse.  At the vineyard, discover the winery’s unique biodynamic philosophy, which uses animals like horses for plowing and geese to naturally curate the vineyards.  During the horse and carriage ride, enjoy finger foods with wine.  Then, visit the cantina and enjoy a full wine tasting.
• Later in the afternoon, return to the property and tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 2. The menu includes antipasto, such as handmade pasta with seasonal sauce, a main course and dessert.
• Dinner follows with everyone enjoying the food that were prepared in the cooking class.  Toast with a great glass of local red or white wine, included.

Day 5: Check Out & Departure

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and departure. Pack your delicious recipes and your wonderful memories as we say arrivederci!
• Departure Transfer to Spoleto Train Station.