Flavors of Italy

Italy is one of those destinations where the amount of history, art, and architecture can take many lifetimes to see it all. However, Travel Crafter invited participants to experience this popular destination in a different way. As the founder of her local Slow Food chapter, Travel Crafter owner Becky Craft designed this journey to focus on the foods, flavors and culture of Italy and not its monuments, museums and historical sights. The late fall trip began in Piedmont for tastings of Barolo and Barbaresco wines, white truffles at Alba’s annual White Truffle Festival, artisan cheeses at a local farm, and a gourmet dinner in a castle. Moving south to Florence, the group stopped for lunch in one of Cinque Terre’s seaside towns for a fresh seafood lunch before arriving at Il Salviatino - a luxurious villa hotel in the hills overlooking Florence. From this base, the group visited the Bolgheri region for tastings at producers of super Tuscan wines. Then they enjoyed a Florence market visit with a local chef to select the freshest ingredients for a meal which the group prepared with the chef in her home. The trip finished in Umbria with a stay in the picturesque village of Norcia at the luxury Palazzo Seneca. While in Umbria, the group went on a truffle hunt with a local truffle hunter and his dog, visited a local olive oil mill to see the pressing and production of olive oil, had tastings of Umbrian DOCG wines, and attended the annual Prosciuti dal Mondo festival to sample some of the best prosciutto from producers all over Europe. The finale was an exclusive gourmet dinner created by a Michelin 2-star chef.