TOUR FOOD AND CULTURE OF THE LIVING SOUTH: LAZIO, CILENTO, BASILICATA & PUGLIA
This tour represents an original itinerary of tour around Southern Italy regions.
So we can guide you to develop originally your tour expectations to travel in the Southern Italy regions. Ideas to realize your private customized travel to Puglia, Basilicata, Lazio or anywhere you think in South Italy. The first step to realize your dream travel to Italy is contact us to meet your Taste and Slow Italy private Advisor. This is a very easy, smart and positive experience for all our Clients, they say. Your travel starts just meeting our Team, telling us your personal tastes and interests. We will guide you to organize your personal travel project to Southern Italy.
Southern Italy is an authentic way to visit Italy. People is friendly and warm. Despite the stereotypes, Italy is a safe country with an excellent welfare (high-level free healthcare, public services and public security). Actually Italy is pretty different from North to South. Puglia and Basilicata are absolutely rural and Mediterranean, rich of history heritage and local traditions. You can choose to start your tour from Lazio, then moving to South to live this experience made of pure authenticity. Castelli Romani (Rome countryside), Amalfi coast, Naples, Paestum and Pompeii. Puglia and Basilicata, visiting places as Salento beaches and enchanting cities as Matera. Then add private visit to authentic local destinations “off beaten paths” or more popular proposals. You can drink wine in front of Vesuvio Volcano, or in Otranto seeing the meeting between two seas. Exclusive lunches or dinners in Lecce in a typical Masseria. See villages: Castel Gandolfo, Frascati, Nemi, Castelli Romani area, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Sabaudia, Gaeta, Circeo Coast, Sperlonga, Cilento, Marina di Camerota, Matera, Altamura, Castel del Monte, Lecce, Otranto and Salento.
Please consider that we can adjust and customize the tour plan in Southern Italy for groups or individuals following your travel expectations and personal interests.
Read the pdf sample itinerary below.
PLACES AND SITES OF INTEREST
► Roman Castles with gourmet stops
► Maga Circe Coast with gourmet stop
► Isole Pontine: Ponza & Palmarola with light lunch on board
► Cilento: Paestum & Agropoli
► Cilento Coast
► Basilicata & Matera
► Puglia with gourmet stops
► Campania, Lucania Dolomites & dinner event
THE TOUR INCLUDES
✓ hotel accommodation in B&B treatment
✓ Private car or minivan/bus for all the tour
✓ Tour Leader for all the tour
✓ Lunches and dinners as per description
✓ Local guides as per description
✓ Ticket entrance fees as per itinerary
UPON REQUEST
x Medical-luggage insurance
x Optional tours/experiences
ITINERARY
Lazio, 4 nights
Day 1 | WELCOMING LAKES AND PAPAL VENUES!
Arrival at Rome airport. Private chauffeured transfer to your accommodation an excellent villa near Castel Gandolfo or near Frascati, in B&B treatment.
Lunch at leisure.
time at leisure to relax in that beautiful venue.
Welcome dinner at your Hotel or in a local authentic restaurant
Day 2 | THE KINGS’ PALATE - LAZIO CASTLES
Breakfast at your hotel.
Today you will be guided towards a panoramic tour along the Roman Castles and their culinary traditions: Castelgandolfo (the summer residence of the Pope), Ariccia, Genzano, Nemi.
We will stop in a typical “Fraschetta” in Ariccia: a gourmet stop where you will have the chance to taste the mouth-watering “Porchetta” and wine.
In the afternoon we will pass through Genzano and Velletri for a photographic stop. In Genzano you will have the chance to discover the first IGT bread in the world, with all its secrets, in the oldest bakery of the small village.
Our last stop will be in Nemi, a real jewel with a private lake. In Nemi you’ll walk through the
narrow streets and taste syrups made with Nemi’s strawberries.
Back to your Hotel in Castel Gandolfo or Frascati with free time for dinner.
Overnight at your Hotel.
Day 3 | VISIT TO MAGA CIRCE COAST AND ITS SMALL JEWELS
Breakfast at your hotel and check out.
Private chauffeured transfer from your Hotel to Riviera di Circe in the south of Rome. We will
visit the enchanting sea shores villages of Sabaudia, Terracina, San Felice Circeo, Sperlonga and Gaeta. A lovely day dedicated to taste, art and nature, simply amazing!
Arrival in Gaeta or Formia or Sabaudia. Check in in a 4 star hotel, in B&B treatment.
Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4 | TWO BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS IN A SEA PRISTINE
Breakfast at your hotel.
Departure for a boat tour around Isole Pontine.
Boarding in Formia on hydrofoil or another fast boat to Ponza. Meeting with the local guide to visit this beloved island. Electric cars are available if you prefer.
After the tour we will sail on private boat for a two hour tour of the coast Island reaching Isola di Palmarola. In Palmarola Island there are few traces of man. The island is considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world for its wild and uncontaminated landscape. The only trace of human presence is discernible in cave dwellings and in the remains of an ancient Cistercian monastery.
Light lunch on board (water and wine included).
Back to Formia.
Dinner at leisure, overnight stay.
Cilento, 2 nights
Day 5 | LET’S FIND OUT THE CILENTO!
After breakfast departure to the lands of Cilento.
Arrival in San Marco di Castellabate and check in.
San Marco is part of the municipality of Castellabate, in the heart of the National Park of Cilento. Before arriving at the hotel stop to visit Paestum, a fascinating place considered the door of Cilento area. Paestum is recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built by the Greeks in 600 BC and initially was given the name of Poseidon -it was dedicated to the god of the sea Poseidon (or Neptune for Romans). Then it became a Roman colony taking the definitive name of Paestum. The Romans developed a seaport in the city and they erected a temple.
After Paestum we will visit Agropoli. The historical centre of the village -accessible by a large
gate dating back to the seventeenth century- still retains much of the ancient centre and the defensive walls. Enjoy a visit of the Aragonese Castle of Agropoli, a medieval fortress built in order to protect the town. The castle stands in a strategic position from which it was possible to control all the territory around.
Back to San Marco di Castellabate.
Dinner at leisure, overnight stay.
Day 6 | GOING SOUTH!
Breakfast at your hotel and tour of the fabulous sea of Cilento: we will visit the Cilento area,
through all the coast villages: Marina di Pisciotta, Ascea, Palinuro, Marina di Camerota.
In Marina di Pisciotta, a small village of the Cilento coast, we will learn about an ancient technique of fishing and preservation of anchovies. This technique -that was developed around the Mediterranean Sea at the time of the ancient Greeks- here survives thanks to a group of six fishermen who still carry on this ancient tradition. The menaica anchovies are fished between April and July: the fishermen go out at dusk placing their goals. The peculiarity of this technique are the goals, the so-called “menaica”, that manages to select only the largest anchovies. The anchovies are immediately processed and preserved in salt.
In Marina di Camerota you will enjoy a unique experience: take part in a Lamparata just after the sunset under the moonlight. The Lamparata is an ancient fishing technique. Leave the port of Marina di Camerota on board of a fishing boat equipped of a powerful lamp (lampara) directing light on water. After a signal the goal is thrown into the sea. All the fishes will be grilled on the closer bay and served with local wine- all in a very nice atmosphere!
Or just take a boat tour to learn about the sea and this beautiful coast. The shores of Marina di Camerota and Capo di Palinuro will have no more secrets. The team that will lead the tour consists of real “old sea dogs” that will describe every corner, telling myths and legends, a perfect day on the authentic Italian sea!
Back to San Marco di Castellabate.
Dinner at leisure, overnight stay.
Basilicata, 2 nights
Day 7 | LIVING IN A STONE - MATERA’S STUNNINGS
Breakfast at your hotel; check out and early departure towards Matera.
Lunch at leisure.
Stop in Altamura to visit the most ancient oven in this town. The Antico Forno is dated 1423. One of the oldest in Altamura, it is used to produce the famous local bread classified since 2005 as PDO “Protected Designation of Origin”.
Arrival in Matera and hotel check in.
Dinner event in a grotto.
Overnight stay at your Hotel in Matera.
DAY 8 | BASILICATA’S SECRETS
Breakfast at your hotel and guided visit of the Rione Sassi (cave houses, rocky churches where time seems to stop, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List).
Departure in the early afternoon for a three-hour tour to discover the small villages and their
amazing landscape characterized by calanchi -singular hill shaped by weather and time.
Tursi amazes you with its beauty and uniqueness. Founded by the Arabs, it was built with sandstone along a steep slope overhanging the clay hills. Walk through the small alleys with stunning panoramic views on the calanchi.
Aliano, where Carlo Levi, the author of “Christ Stopped at Eboli,” spent his exile. Through
the places described in the novel you will recognize the authenticity of a rural and pastoral tradition never extinguished. Walk along the alleys described in “Christ Stopped at Eboli” and stop at the “house with eyes”.
Craco, a rural village abandoned by its inhabitants after a strong earthquake, it is today a ghost village on a clay hill dominated by an imposing Norman tower. It captivates everyone for its extraordinary beauty.
Come back to your Hotel in Matera, time to relax, free time for dinner and overnight stay.
Or enjoy a day at leisure in Matera.
Puglia, 5 nights
Day 9 | PUGLIA: FOCACCIA, MOZZARELLA AND WINE
Breakfast and check out from your Hotel.
At 11.00 am transfer to Fasano or Monopoli. Check in at your hotel.
Transfer to Gioia del Colle area for a tasting / light lunch in a wine cellar producing Primitivo
wine. Some grape varieties in Apulia -including Primitivo variety- were probably introduced in the eighteenth century by the Benedictines, who found favourable climate and soil conditions for growing grapes.
Stop in Polignano a Mare where you can find one of the most famous Italian ice cream. Giordy Luca Babbo is the owner of Caruso, “the most famous ice cream bar” in Puglia, he won many awards and prizes…!
Day 10 | LECCE, THE BAROQUE FEAST
Breakfast at your hotel and guided visit of the wonderful city of Lecce.
Lecce will surprise you with its baroque influences, Piazza Duomo –the main square-, the narrow streets, the cathedral and the bell tower. Gastronomic stops in town to try la rustica (confection of puff pastry with different ingredients), pasticciotto leccese and ice-coffee with almond’s milk.
Lunch at leisure and free afternoon to stroll around Lecce, discovering the ancient artisanal laboratories like the papier-machè.
Dinner event based on local orecchiette handmade pasta. Enjoy your dinner while listening to a local band playing Pizzica music!
Overnight stay at your hotel.
Day 11 | KNIGHT TEMPLARS, ORGANIC GARDENS AND CASTLES: PUGLIA’S SYMBOLS
Breakfast at your hotel.
Departure for a guided visit of Castel del Monte, Puglia’s symbol and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle was built directly on a rocky bank and it is well known for its octagonal shape.
Eight octagonal towers are inserted on each of the eight corners.
In the afternoon guided visit of Bari, the biggest city in Puglia.
Back to Fasano, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
DAY 12 | OTRANTO “THE WHITE” AND LIFESTYLE
Breakfast at your hotel and departure for the beautifully preserved city of Otranto, real pearl of the Adriatic sea, famous for the white color of the houses that matches with the blue of the ski.
The town is full of churches with wonderful mosaics, interesting castles which offers a panoramic view and a long walk on the sea with very nice views.
Lunch at leisure.
Visit of the lively city of Gallipoli, a little nice jewel.
Back to Fasano, dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Campania, 1 night
Day 13 | LUCANIA DOLOMITES COAST TO COAST
Breakfast at your hotel in Fasano and check out.
Today you will leave quite early to discover another authentic part of Italy, the Lucania Dolomites.
We will cross Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, two of the most beautiful villages in Italy, where we will assist to the “angel flight” -a 1550m traverse between two mountains, where people speeds of up to 120 mile/h at heights of up to 888 meters !!!
In the evening dinner based on local cavatelli con molliche.
Transfer to Vietri sul Mare.
Lazio, 1 night
Day 14 | BACK TO LAZIO
Breakfast at your hotel in Vietri sul mare and check out. Morning at leisure in Vietri sul Mare.
In the afternoon transfer to Fiumicino Airport in Rome.
Overnight stay in an hotel near the Airport.
DAY 15 | GOODBYE ITALY!
Breakfast at your hotel and transfer to the Airport according to your flight.
Options for days 14-15-16
Day 14 | ROME
Departure from Fasano to Rome.
Lunch in an organic certified cheese factory famous for its high level of quality.
This farm produces the particular “mozzarella di Bufala”. Visit of the factory and cheese tasting.
Transfer to Vietri sul Mare.
Vietri sul Mare is the gateway to the Amalfi coast, true landscape jewel. Do not miss the Church of St. John the Baptist with the bell tower, the majolica dome and the fine altarpiece of the 16th century. Here you can value the art of ceramics in the pottery factory Solimene, an example of post-war architecture. Solimene family has worked for more than a century in the ceramic industry;
in 1951 the family asked architect Paolo Soleri to plan the new factory building, one of
the most significant architecture of the 20th century. Vietri sul Mare has a ceramic craft tradition dating back to the 15th century.
Lunch at leisure in Vietri sul Mare.
Transfer to Roma and hotel check in
Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Day 15 | ROME AT LEISURE
Breakfast and day at leisure to enjoy Rome!
DAY 16 | SEE YOU SOON ITALY!!!
Breakfast and car transfer from your accommodation towards Rome Fiumicino