WORLDWIDE CULTURAL AND CULINARY VACATIONS
Home | Contact Us
Edible Destinations Logo
Edible Destinations Logo
GiftssGifts and Gift Cards
1-800-390-3292
Mon-Fri:9AM - 6PM EST
Closed Saturday & Sunday

Flavors of the Italian Countryside

(This premium tour lies midway between Rome and Naples in a region called Ciociaria)

« »
Priced From
$4,398 USD *
(For One Person, Double Occupancy)
* Plus taxes. Tours sold on an availability basis.
7 days | 6 nights

The Best of Central Italy’s Countryside
Ancient Cultures, Regional Cuisine & Quaint Hamlets

Characterized by lush hills and forested mountains, offering spectacular sceneries and enchanting hillside villages. Castro dei Volsci lies halfway between Rome and Naples in an area best known for its simple, savory and healthy cuisine. Discovering regional foods is a priority on this tour, and you’ll learn the secrets of such dishes as gnocchi, spaghetti carbonara, rigatoni alla pajata and saltimbocca alla Romana to name just a few. You will also learn the process of making extra virgin olive oil, visit a farmer’s market, learn the secrets of making perfect buffalo mozzarella, assist in preparing an amazing array of antipasti and visit regional vineyards famous for producing some of Italy’s finest Cabernet wines. But it’s not all about the food. Day trips to historic sites and medieval hamlets are also on the agenda.
Small Group Friendly
Itinerary Accommodations Map FAQ Testimonials
VACATION HIGHLIGHTS
Please note: Tour inclusions can change depending upon seasonality and weather conditions.
6 Nights Palazzo Accommodations
All Meals Each Day
Round-Trip Rome Airport Transfers
Olive Mill Tour & Cooking Class
Val Comino Wine Tour & Visit to Atina
Farmers Market Tour & Cooking Class
Cheese Makers Tour & Terracina
Prosciuttificio Tour
Pasta Cooking Class
Shopping & Pizza Class
Multi-Course Farewell Dinner
While our tours are designed as soft adventure experiences, walking, climbing stairs, and in rare cases mild hiking may be required. If you have mobility issues, you should speak with one of our culinary travel specialists to determine if this tour is appropriate for your situation.
AVAILABLE DATES
April through November. Tours start on Sunday and end on Saturday.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
Please note: Actual itineraries are subject to change due to seasonality.
Click arrows () to show details
Day 1
Round Trip Transfers | "Benvenuti" Dinner | Castro Dei Volsci
You will be met at Rome Fiumicino Airport between 11:00am and Noon on the first day of your holiday and transferred to your Italian home for the next 7 days. Benvenuti and check-in at the Palazzo is followed by a welcome aperitivo. Afterwards, you will set off for a guided walk acquainting you with the medieval historical village of Castro dei Volsci. This is, after all, the heart of the Ciociaria and an area of exceptional beauty. Having taken some time to relax back at the Palazzo, unwind, and unpack, you will then enjoy an early dinner in one of our dining rooms, concluding with an after-dinner liqueur.
Day 2
All Meals | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Our premier tours such as Culinary Adventures into the Italian Countryside include a full breakfast buffet, lunch with wine, and dinner with wine each day. Your time in Italy will be filled with exciting excursions and activities, with the tastes of this region being a highlight of your stay.
First Hands-On Cooking Class | Olive Mill Tour | Arpino
After breakfast in Casa Gregorio's Cappucino Bar, set off for the town of Arpino, birthplace of Cicero and land of the "Olives". This morning's visit is to a traditional olive oil mill (Frantoio) where you are shown the process of making Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Proceeding to a local estate, you will enjoy tasting fresh olive oil. A light lunch with flavors of the oil and a sample of some of the owner's organic wine accompany our visit. Before leaving olive country, you may just decide to bring home a bottle of "Terra di Cicerone" extra virgin oil. After you return to the Palazzo in the late afternoon it is time to meet your Pastry Chef and begin to bake! Your first hands-on cooking class is followed by dinner in the Palazzo's dining room, where you will enjoy the fruits of your labor with new friends.
Day 3
All Meals | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Our premier tours such as Culinary Adventures into the Italian Countryside include a full breakfast buffet, lunch with wine and dinner with wine each day. Your time in Italy will be filled with exciting excursions and activities, with the tastes of this region being a highlight of your stay.
Farmer’s Market | Second Cooking Class | Cheese Tour | Terracina
Today, after breakfast at the Palazzo, you will set off for a visit to a local cheese caseificio to sample fresh ricotta, buffalo mozzarella, and provolone. A visit to the local town's farmers' market is next, to gather what is needed for tonight's antipasto extravaganza, while getting a feel for how the locals live. The morning continues with a visit to the Abbey of Fossanova on your journey to the Tyrrhenian seaside town of Terracina. Thrill to a view of the sea, stroll by a few shops, then stop for lunch at the local Trattoria Centosedici. Upon return to the Casa, relax for a short time, then jump into your second hands-on cooking class, as you all prepare together a variety of Antipasti. The day's activities culminate in dinner with wine, bruschette, crostini, frittate, grilled peppers and eggplant, frittelle di zucchine, and stuffed zucchini accompanied by the sampling of various formaggi e olive, surrounded by new friends in the Palazzo's dining room.
Day 4
All Meals | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Our premier tours such as Culinary Adventures into the Italian Countryside include a full breakfast buffet, lunch with wine and dinner with wine each day. Your time in Italy will be filled with exciting excursions and activities, with the tastes of this region being a highlight of your stay.
Prosciuttificio | Third Cooking Class – Pasta! | Guarcino
Today you will head off to La Pastorella and are shown the process of making fresh sausage. We continue our tribute to the "miale" and visit a "Prosciuttificio" in the town of Guarcino (the Parma of Ciociaria), and there you will share a picnic lunch of fresh hand-cut prosciutto or porchetta. Upon your return to the Palazzo, you will relax for a short time, then begin your third hands-on cooking lesson with our Chef. Fantasia of "Primi Piatti", you will learn how to prepare a variety of homemade pasta shapes with the proper seasonal sauce, which you will then enjoy tonight at dinner with a great bottle of wine in the Palazzo's dining room.
Day 5
All Meals | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Our premier tours such as Culinary Adventures into the Italian Countryside include a full breakfast buffet, lunch with wine and dinner with wine each day. Your time in Italy will be filled with exciting excursions and activities, with the tastes of this region being a highlight of your stay.
Wine Tour | Val Comino | Fourth Cooking Class | Atina
After breakfast at the Palazzo, we head off to visit the Abbey of Montecassino, which is a significant part of history here in Ciociaria. Afterward, we visit a winery in Val Comino, a region in Italy famous for its Cabernet wines. You will have the opportunity to see one of their vineyards, visit the cellar and bottling plant, and learn the vinification process ending with a wine tasting. We then continue our journey to the nearby town of Atina, famous in Italy for its annual Jazz Festival, and pause for lunch at the restaurant called "Mantic." Returning to Casa Gregorio and enjoying a short rest, you will be ready to begin to prepare a list of "Secondi Piatti" such as Involtini, salsiccia con patate e peperuola, and Scaloppini alla mela, and the proper "Contorno" to accompany the main course. Dinner with wine is in the Frantoio.
Day 6
All Meals | Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Our premier tours such as Culinary Adventures into the Italian Countryside include a full breakfast buffet, lunch with wine, and dinner with wine each day. Your time in Italy will be filled with exciting excursions and activities, with the tastes of this region being a highlight of your stay.
Brunch | Pizza Making Class | Shopping | Farewell Dinner
Enjoy an delicious brunch this morning followed by a lesson on how to make the perfect pizza dough! While the dough is rising, stroll the cobblestone streets of Castro Dei Volsci and visit the Artisan shops where you can participate with the artisans in learning the traditional art that has been passed down from generation to generation. This is a great time to find that treasured memento to remember your visit with us. In the early afternoon, our Chef walks you through the pizza-making process, followed by a "pizza party". On this last evening, you'll take pleasure in a night of entertainment in the Taverna as you bid farewell to the friends you have made at Casa Gregorio.
Day 7
Italian Breakfast Buffet
You will have one final opportunity to savor the Italian buffet breakfast you have come to cherish. After breakfast, gather up your luggage, souvenirs ... and memories. It's time to say Arrivederci!
Check-Out and Departure | Transfers back to Rome
Time flies when you're having so much fun, but alas … it is time to check out and depart this delicious "Edible Destination." Remember, short excursion packages are often available in nearby cities or historic destinations. Should you desire an extension, please let your culinary travel specialist know before check-in. Early in the morning on your departure day, you and your newly acquired friends will be transferred in luxury back to the Rome International Airport to continue on your travels. May your future journeys come with sweet dreams and create tasty memories!
Castro dei Volsci, ItalyArpino, ItalyTerracina, ItalyGuarcino, ItalyAtina, ItalySperlonga, Italy
The Epitourean trip to Castro dei Volsci, Italy, was absolutely wonderful. Casa Gregorio is a unique type of farm to table cooking school and boutique hotel, nestled atop the ancient Castro dei Volsci in the high hills of Lazio (Latium). A team of travel, cooking and culture experts take a small group of fortunate travelers every day to markets and visit food and wine purveyors in the region while also visiting points of cultural interest. In the late afternoon cooking classes commence and these are delightful! We learned many essential cooking and baking techniques and ate some of the best regional Italian Food obtainable. The state of the art cooking facility and the dining rooms are exceptional--you eat in a different uniquely appointed room each day. You also are taken to wonderful, farm sustaining restaurants for some meals, another treat. This property is a private home and you are treated by Gregory and his superb staff as well pampered family members We couldn't have hoped for a better, more uniquely genuine food and cultural experience.
Marianne - September 2018
Wow, what can I say...way above our expectations on the whole trip!!! We ended up joining 10 people that were all siblings and spouses who were great party animals and they adopted us the first day and it was a crazy wonderful group of people to eat, drink and travel with! We will be your biggest booster of this trip...will highly recommend this to any of your clients. The Duke hotel was also fabulous and staff were first class. Thanks again for an unforgettable trip!
Lew & Sue - October 2017
I can't even begin to tell you how much we enjoyed this all inclusive tour. In fact we are looking forward to do it again soon. It was over the top exceptional. I would do it again in a heartbeat and have nothing but wonderful things to say about this edible destination. Not only was it classy, it was medieval, exciting, delicious, informative, engrossing, accommodating, inspiring, creative, enjoyable, and many many other adjectives I can't think that fast. It was such a whirlwind of a tour that we're thinking about doing the 2 week tour. Gregorio & his entire staff are top of the line exquisite hosts. It's a 10 star establishment and we are so happy we went. And now we have a whole new bunch of friends.
Barbara R. - November 2016
What a wonderful experience we had at Casa Gregorio. It was magical from the moment we stepped through the door. Everything was thoughtfully done. The chefs were fun, the tours to the surrounding areas were informative and the food and wine was to die for.
Ramona - April 2016
Our trip was absolutely fantastic! Thank you for all your work with Edible Destinations. We had cooking tours during the day to wonderful little towns like Arpino, Pofi and Terracina which were so entertaining and guided by Petrizio and others who were so knowledgeable and fun. I think we were the only tourists there or at least it seemed so. In the evening there were cooking classes taught by Dayana and Valero. The people we were with were such fun and so diverse. And how we laughed!!!! The food was outstanding to say the least. Much of the food - pastries, antipasto, pasta and pizza we made ourselves but then Gregory's staff added even more delicious dishes. And the wine flowed!! My suitcase gained 11 pounds but I only gained three pounds which I have already lost. The Casa Gregorio is just a beautifully and classically decorated home. The kitchen we worked in was better than any I have seen on the Food Network. Our villa was stellar and the terrace views to die for!!!!! Highly recommended tour!
Nancy - November 2015
Regarding Casa Gregorio – From the start of being picked up at the airport it exceeded my wildest expectations. The rooms were beautiful and well prepared for a comfortable stay. The view from the bedroom window was exquisitely beautiful overlooking the mountains. A tour of the facility and the teaching kitchens was incredible. I can't say enough about Chef Dayana! She patiently & entertainingly taught us how to cook so many things. A huge part of this magnificent culinary experience were the employees at Casa Gregorio. Without question, they are a team who work together and really enjoy their jobs! The week was full of tours and culinary lessons that I will never forget. I have traveled extensively and can say without a doubt, Casa Gregorio is one the best vacations I've ever had. I can see in the future that it will be heralded as one of the top 10 destinations in the World.
Mandy - October 2015
Just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time on this trip to the Italian countryside. Everything was wonderful and even my husband, who went "kicking & screaming", admitted he had a great time! We've told all our friends about it, and I've passed your name on to several people who are looking into trips for next year. Thank you again for recommending it, it was the perfect size class for us in the most perfect place!
Lisa and Wayne - July 2015
I have never been on such a fabulous vacation as this one to Casa Gregorio. It was everything that I could have asked for and more, from the pickup at the airport, to the accommodations, the food and the staff who are absolutely outstanding. All the day trips and the wonderful people we met, I would go back tomorrow if I could. It is such a beautiful place and the accommodations are just beautiful, all within a stunning 16th century village. Thank you for booking this for me, I have given your name out to a few people.
Roblyn - July 2015
All I'm going to say is... WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Casa Gregorio was STUPENDOUS!!! I can't thank you enough for working with me on such a fabulous vacation.
Lorraine and Mike - June 2015
I just wanted to say what a wonderful experience we had at Casa Gregorio March 29 to April 4, 2015. Absolutely the 5 star location as advertised and Gregory and his entire staff were first class. The cooking classes and the tours of the local countryside were great. The staff at Epitourean were so helpful and patient with me since I'm not a world traveler. Would recommend to anyone who wants a relaxing but educational vacation. I'm making fresh pasta and loving my purchase at the farmers market. Thanks for a super time.
Carole - April 2015
Winner
OUTSTANDING
CULINARY TRAVEL
Category
Member of ASTA Member of ATTA Member of GSTC