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Umbria Culinary Delight Tour

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Day 1:
Meet at the main Florence train station (Santa Maria Novella) in the early afternoon and drive approximately two and a half hours southeast to our first hotel in Umbria, in the quaint hilltown of Spello. {Note: If you would like to arrive a day or two early to shake off some jet lag and see a bit of Florence, we strongly encourage that and can assist with a hotel reservation in that city.} Settle into our very comfortable 4-star hotel for three nights, with its wonderful views over the Umbrian countryside. Later this afternoon we'll have a tour of Spello, its buildings of pink and cream Umbrian stone lounging under Mount Subasio, overlooking the Valle Umbra. The town has three excellently preserved Roman gates, and its 13th-century Santa Maria Maggiore church contains brilliant frescos by Pinturicchio. Welcome dinner this evening. Overnight Spello.

Day 2:
Our morning takes us to the regional capital of Perugia, one of Italy's greatest art cities — an intensely atmospheric place sheltering some of the most authentic medieval streets in all Europe, and also very well known for its chocolates! In its picturesque main piazza is the 13th-century Fontana Maggiore (one of Italy's nicest) with its 48 double relief-panels sculpted by Pisano father and son; the cathedral contains one of Luca Signorelli's earliest and best works; and its National Gallery shows off works by Pinturicchio, Perugino (teacher of Raphael), Fra Angelico, and della Francesca. Free time for lunch on your own and to stroll and shop in Perugia. Later in the day we will visit an interesting, small-scale olive oil producer in Bevagna and have dinner in that town. Overnight Spello.

Day 3:
Morning visit to the nearby medieval hilltown of Assisi, the city of Saint Francis, perhaps Umbria's most famous town and one of its loveliest. Despite the hordes of religious pilgrims who flock here, something simple and good and joyful has survived in Assisi. The Basilica of Saint Francis — with its upper and lower churches containing masterpieces by Giotto, Cimabue, and Martini — is our primary destination. A short drive then brings us to the town of Torgiano, practically synonymous with wine and the Lungarotti family of vintners. Lunch in town at one of Umbria's top-ranked restaurants, followed by a visit to an interesting wine museum with tastefully crafted displays. We'll stop into a winery in the area for a visit and tasting and then have a tour of the nearby charming town of Montefalco, in the heart of Umbria's best wine-producing zone. Return to Spello and dinner on your own. Overnight Spello.

Day 4:
Set out for Norcia, a mountain town considered by gourmets as one of the culinary capitals of Italy. Famous for its fine cheeses and truffles, it also has the reputation for producing the country's best sausages and salami. So widespread is its fame that a butcher's shop elsewhere in the country is often called una norcineria. Visit to a local cheese producer followed by lunch and then some free time to visit the delightful shops in this town. We then return to slightly lower elevations with Spoleto as our destination. Check in to our lovely 4-star hotel. Dinner on your own. Overnight Spoleto.

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Day 5:
We have all day to enjoy the splendors of Spoleto, with its very long history from pre-Roman days to the present-day "Festival of the Two Worlds," Italy's most prestigious international arts festival. Highlights of the city include a great engineering work of the 1300s, the spectacular 755-ft Ponte delle Torri, a bridge and aqueduct of ten towering arches. It spans a 260-ft-deep ravine far below. Spoleto's cathedral contains exquisitely rich frescos, a masterpiece by Fra Filippo Lippi.

Day 6:
Packing up, we leave our Spoleto hotel and head towards southwestern Umbria. Our morning destination is Todi — a rising star of Umbrian hilltowns, with a phenomenal position, perched proudly above the Tiber River. (And, according to a study conducted by the University of Kentucky, Todi is the most livable city in the world.) Three sets of concentric walls — Etruscan, Roman, and medieval — center on the main piazza, an ensemble of exceptional medieval palaces crowned by an elegant Romanesque cathedral. Lunch as a group in the center of town. Below Todi lies the Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione, the most ambitious attempt in Umbria to create a perfect Renaissance temple, and it makes a remarkably beautiful ornament for Todi. Reach Orvieto late in the afternoon. Check into our 4-star hotel, a superbly restored medieval palazzo in the historic center of the city and settle in here for our last two nights. Dinner on your own and overnight Orvieto.

Day 7:
A full day to appreciate this spectacularly sited city, sitting atop a magnificent crag — a 1000-ft sheer-cliffed mesa created by an ancient volcano, which also enriched the hillsides below with special minerals to produce Orvieto's famous white wine. The city is home to one of Italy's finest Gothic cathedrals. Its awe-inspiring facade alone took over 300 years to complete, and inside is Luca Signorelli's stunning Last Judgement, one of the great Italian fresco cycles of the Renaissance. The city has many pretty shops and cafes and alluring narrow and winding streets to while away an afternoon and a wonderful view of the city and surrounding countryside from atop the Torre del Moro. Later we will enjoy a cooking class with a most enthusiastic and charismatic chef, followed by our farewell dinner in her restaurant. Overnight Orvieto.

Day 8:
After breakfast we say arrivederci to Orvieto and Umbria and drive back to Florence train station (approximately two hours). For those who wish to head south, Orvieto is on the main rail line that connects to Rome.