An Artisan Food Tour of Italy

Aliza Green’s passion for Italy and its cuisine has inspired her to create a 10-day culinary tour, October 3-13, 2012, that will give participants a chance to explore autumn culinary delights, fresh pasta and wine in two areas of Italy generally not included on tour itineraries—wild, ancient Etruscan Maremma and Umbria, “Italy’s green heart.”

“My goal is to give participants the flavor of daily life in Italy, not in cities usually frequented by American tourists, but in the countryside and the small towns,” said Green, pioneering chef and author of 12 cookbooks, including Making Artisan Pasta.

The group will stay for six nights in Ramerino, an agriturismo or bed and breakfast on a farm located in a wild, rural part of Tuscany, and four nights in the medieval walled town of Orvieto at Hotel Palazzo Piccolomini, a small family-run hotel located on a restored Renaissance palazzo. Using these two locales as a base, the group will travel into the countryside to visit with artisan food producers—cheese makers, pasta artisans, wine makers, and a chocolatier. An array of workshops and demonstrations will be featured on pasta making, chocolate and wine pairing, and decorating with fruits, vegetables and flowers.

The group will enjoy leisurely meals at small local restaurants and meet the chefs. “The chefs are all my friends,” says Green. “Since some don’t speak English, I translate for them.”

One of the highlights of the trip promises to be a guided tour by a local expert of Pitigliano’s old Jewish quarter followed by a lunch of Jewish specialties. “Elisabetta Peri , the guide we use, is wonderful,” says Green. “On my last tour she introduced us to members of her family and told us that her aunt helped save Jews during the Holocaust and was named a ‘Righteous Gentile’ by Yad Vashem,” says Green.

Also included on the itinerary are a relaxing interlude at an elegant Roman style spa and visits to medieval towns and an Etruscan archaeological site.

The tour, which is hosted throughout by Aliza, includes 10 nights’ accommodations, daily breakfasts, eight lunches, nine dinners, local wines at meals, three winery visits and tastings, all cooking classes and demonstrations, transportation by deluxe mini-coach, and a signed copy of Aliza’s book, Making Artisan Pasta. The land package price is $4985. Learn more about the tour on Aliza’s website or find a complete tour itinerary.

Join Italian food expert Aliza Green for a 10-day small group exploration of pasta and wine in rural Italy.