Finally, I am heading to Florence to meet group that will join in on our tour. Here is our agenda for the week. I don’t know about my guests, but I can’t wait to enjoy this week.
Le Vie del Buongusto Tour
Alto Tevre Umbria – Upper Tiber Valley
April 12 -19, 2014
Day 1 Saturday, April 12
Making our way home
10:00 Meet in Florence at the B&B Hotel
11:30 Visit the home and museum of Bistarelli Agraria, La Soffitta, to learn about Vin Santo (holy wine), how it is made and of course taste some.
1:00 Lunch in Monterchi at a trattoria
2:00 Visit the Museum of Piero della Francesca to see the Madonna del Parto in Monterchi
3:00 Visit Citerna and see a Donatello statue in a tiny church
4:00 Stop at a Buffalo Cheese Farm to buy fresh cheeses
4:30 Arrive at Maridiana and get settled into our home
7:00 Reception hosted by Marisa and Gianni Berna
Day 2 Sunday, April 13
Lago Trasimeno and Truffle Tasting
10:00 Depart Maridiana – drive to Porto to the Agriturismo & Fattoria (farm) Melagrani, where Fabio Berna (Gianni’s nephew) an accomplished chef will demonstrate local cooking for us and we will enjoy lunch. He grows local grains including saffron!
4:00 Return to Maridiana to relax before truffle tasting
5:30 Learn all about truffles, hunting and then taste with Saverio & Gabriella Bianconi, who distribute truffles around the world.
Day 3 Monday, April 14
Umbrian Home Cooking
10:00 Depart to tour one of the local Umbrian hill cities, perhaps Gubbio or , we can decide together.
4:00 Home cooking at Maridiana with Loredana and Maria. We will prepare a local Umbrian menu and then dine at home.
Day 4 Tuesday, April 15
Umbrian Organic Farming
10:00 Visit Lombrico Felice, an Agricoltura biologica (organic farm) of Luca Stalteri. We will tour the farm, then we will work with Luca to prepare a lunch of fresh duck and vegetables from the farm. Following lunch, Luca will give a lecture on what it truly means to be an Agricoltura biologica in Italy.
5:00 Return to Maridiana for a relaxing evening and a light meal.
Day 5 Wednesday, April 16
Local farmers market
Cooking on the Mountain
8:00 Visit the weekly mercato, the local street market in Umbertide; almost every town has one a different day of the week.
9:30 Arrive at Agriturismo Borgo Monte Cedrone on Monte Santa Maria Tiberina where we will work with a local chef and cooking instructor to prepare our lunch, several truffle dishes. A real treat!
2:00 Visit the top of the Monte Santa Maria Tiberina a spectacular hilltop town with a 360 degree view. We can then visit the Villa Montesca (home of Baroness Alice Franchetti Hallgarten, the founder of Tella Umbra, weaving center in Citta di Castelo, several of you have visited on past tours) and stroll through the park, hopefully burning off some of the food we have been eating!
5:00 We will go to the home of Rosario Spista, at his Relais Antonella, in Citerna. He is a local cake maker, here we will make local desserts which can eat there or bring home to eat later!
Day 6 Thursday, April 17
Le Macelleria /The Butcher
10:30 Visit a local macelleria/butcher and see how prosciutto and salami is made. We will then continue on to a farm that raises the famous Chianina breed of cows. The Chianina is an Italian breed of cattle, formerly principally a draught breed, now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The famous bistecca alla fiorentina is produced from its meat.
12:00 We will arrive at the home of a famous Italian artist, Dante Sambuchi, turned wine and olive oil producer, where we will tour his vineyard and wine production facility followed by a meal of local meats with lots of oil and wine tasting too!
4:00 Rest and relaxation at Maridiana
6:00 Visit a local winery and wine maker, Diego Donini. We will learn about local grapes, wine making and wine/food pairing. Naturally we will taste the wine and some local food pairings.
Day 7 Friday, April 18
Good Friday local events
10:00 We can decide how we want to approach this last day. Since it is Good Friday and there are many local events and procession we can select the city we want to visit. The processions are at night and go quite late, so we can spend the early part of the day exploring and then join in a procession.
Day 8 Saturday, April 19
Arrivederci Umbria
10:00 Depart Maridiana
10:30 Visit the local KM 0 market in Umbertide. This is a new Saturday market of local organic vendors and artists. It is my favorite market.
12:00 Tour the Tuscan hill city of Cortona , where can shop and wander this enchanting city, then enjoy a Tuscan lunch before departing for Florence
6:00 Arrive back at the B&B Hotel in Florence