Taste of Campania
MAY, JUNE, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2024
Tour at a Glance:
HISTORY
More than 2,500 years of HISTORY from the Greek Temples in Paestum to the Roman city of HERCULANEUM that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the Roman theatre in BENEVENTO where performances still take place to the Royal Palace in Caserta which is larger than Versailles.
SEASIDE BEAUTY
From the beautiful towns of Torre del Greco and Vietri sul Mare to the ancient city of Agropoli we will look out at the sea as we dine where the Greeks and Romans walked more than 2000 years ago.
ARTISTRY
You will see the ancient art of Cameo making from Coral harvested from the Mediterranean sea that began centuries ago and we will visit a town renowned worldwide for its magnificent ceramics.
FOOD & WINE
And of course, we will eat and drink each day the foods and wines Italy has become famous for. From the Buffalo Mozzarella which we will see produced to the award-winning Falanghina and Taurasi wines.
DAY 1 - Saturday
ROME - THE ETERNAL CITY
Arrive at the Rome Airport and check in to your room at the Hilton Hotel. Relax and
spend this day at your leisure. Hop the shuttle bus from the Hilton and head to the
center of Rome where you can sit at an outdoor cafe or visit the sites like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, or the Vatican. Don’t forget to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to the Eternal City.
DAY 2 - Sunday
MONTE CASSINO & DUGENTA
After your breakfast at the Hilton, meet in the lobby to board our bus at 9:30 a.m. As we travel down to Campania and our temporary home in Dugenta we will stop to visit the legendary monastery in Monte Cassino, which was originally established in the year 529 AD. Destroyed by allied bombing in 1944, it has now been magnificently restored. After lunch we continue to Dugenta.
DAY 3 - Monday
HERCULANEUM AND TORRE DEL GRECO
Breakfast begins at 7:00 AM. Our bus arrives at 8:00 a.m. and we will depart by 8:30 a.m. for Herculaneum. After our guided tour we travel by bus to Torre del Greco. Cameos have been carved in Torre de Greco for centuries from the coral which is so abundant in the waters nearby this port. We will have a light lunch at seaside before we tour the many shops and artisans who still practice this ancient craft. After leaving Torre del Greco, we travel south to Paestum and check into our luxury hotel. Dinner is at the hotel or nearby.
DAY 4 - Tuesday
PAESTUM - TOUR / LUNCH AT BUFFALO FARM
Breakfast at the hotel before we take a short ride to the famous Vanuollo Buffalo Mozzarella farm. We tour the farm to see how these beautiful animals live and how Buffalo Mozzarella is made. This farm has a wonderful gift shop where leather goods are sold and a restaurant where we will have a wonderful lunch. After our tour and lunch, we travel to Castellabate, a town made famous by a movie. It overlooks the sea and is filled with shops that you can browse. Later we will have dinner overlooking the sea in Agropoli.
DAY 5 - Wednesday
PAESTUM - TEMPLES OF PAESTUM
After breakfast at our hotel, we will tour the ancient Greek Temples of Paestum. Built almost 3,000 years ago, these Temples rival anything to be found in Greece or Sicily. We can browse the gift shops after our tour and then travel to the nearby Azienda Marino Winery, where we will meet the owners and have a delicious luncheon.After our lunch we will tour the vineyard and return to Tenute del Gheppio.
DAY 6 - Thursday
CASERTA & MADDOLONI
Following breakfast at Tenute del Gheppio, we have a short ride to the Town of Maddaloni. There we will visit the L’Universita Del Sapore world renowned cooking school. Here we will have a hands-on cooking lesson with a master chef. We will prepare our own luncheon and learn the secrets to its preparation. After lunch we travel to the Royal Palace in Caserta. Constructed in the 18th Century for Bourbon Kings, this 1,200- room palace with its three-kilometer-long gardens dwarfs the palace at Versailles.
DAY 7 - Friday
BENEVENTO & SANT' AGATA DE' GOTI
After breakfast we travel to the city of Benevento in the Province of Benevento. There, our guide will walk us in the footsteps of the Roman Army that marched on the Appian Way from Rome to Brindisi. In Benevento almost 2000 years ago, an arch was built to honor the Emperor Trajan and to celebrate his addition to this historic road. Along with the Arch of Trajan we will also take a tour of the Church of Santa Sofia built by the Lombards in the year 750 AD, as well as the Roman Theatre where performances still take place.
After our tour of Benevento, we travel to the city of Sant’ Agata de’ Goti. There we will visit the Mustilli Winery and tour their wine cellar carved more than 50 feet below the streets of the town in the 1700s. We will enjoy a lovely wine pairing lunch after our tour and visit some of the quaint shops in town. Later that night after our final wine pairing dinner, we will enjoy music and singing to complete our tour.
DAY 8 - Saturday
DEPARTURE
Our tour ends after breakfast and our bus will return to Rome. For those who wish to continue their vacation in other parts of Italy, we can make alternate transportation arrangements.