Day 1 Naples – Sorrento
- Arrival at Naples airport
- Transfers from Naples airport to charming centrally located hotel in Sorrento
- Free time to explore Sorrento independently
- Welcome dinner
- Overnight at hotel
Day 2 Pompeii & Pizza Class
- Breakfast at hotel
- Meet the driver and transfer to the archaeological site of Pompeii, a wealthy Roman city buried under ash after a cataclysmic eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The incredibly preserved art and artifacts of this city give a window into the daily life of Romans nearly 2000 years ago. Pompeii has fascinated visitors and historians for centuries, and research continues to this day.
- Return to Sorrento for a fun pizza making class in a farmhouse.
- Learn how to prepare the “real Italian pizza”.
- Enjoy the pizza you made together with a glass of great local wine
Day 3 Capri
- Breakfast at hotel
- In the morning, weather permitting, transfer to Sorrento Pier & board the fast ferry to Capri Island with a local guide for the full day.
- Hop onto the funicular, which takes you on a fantastic ride up to the hilltop town of Capri.
- Walking tour to the public gardens, which offer an outstanding view of the island.
- Lunch on your own
- After lunch rejoin your guide to continue exploring this island of mystery and fantasy.
- Weather permitting, we will board a private motorboat to the entrance of the Blue Grotto. This sea cave is eerily lit by reflected sunlight and glows with a glorious blue hue during the day. Should there be adverse weather or sea conditions, we will instead drive up to Anacapri, the highest part of the island and visit Villa San Michele, a ruined church turned into a unique home a century ago by the Swedish physician and scientist Axel Munthe. Of his home, Munthewrote: “The soul needs more space than the body. My home shall be open for the sun and the wind and the voices of the sea – like a Greek temple – and light, light, light everywhere!”
- In the afternoon learn how to prepare Capri’s famous limoncello
- Sample one of Capri’s most traditional specialties!
- Later in the afternoon return to Marina Grande and board a ferry to Sorrento
- Transfer to hotel.
- Dinner on your own
- At night a gelato demonstration in a gelato shop in Sorrento
- Tasting of delicious gelato
- Overnight at hotel
Day 4 The Dramatic Amalfi Coast
- Breakfast at hotel
- In the morning enjoy an amazing guided tour of the Amalfi Coast
- Luncheon overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the town of Amalfi
- This picturesque village from which the coast derives its name was the first Italian maritime republic to play a major role in Mediterranean trading, with an extensive network in Egypt and Byzantium to the east. With a population that reached 70,000 (compared with the current 5300) and power that competed with Pisa and Genoa, Amalfitani merchants took away the Mediterranean trade monopoly from the Arabs and founded mercantile bases in Southern Italy and the Middle East as early as the 10th century. Amalfi emissaries were the first to create a robust trade with Constantinople, present day Istanbul. Their Amalfian Laws of the Middle Ages represented the first codified rules of maritime law for the Mediterranean region.
- Afternoon a pastry experience in Amalfi – where you will have the opportunity to see the pastry chef showing you the tricks to making the most important sweets in the world, such as the Caprese cake, made with chocolate and almond, named for the island of Capri from which it originates; the sfogliatella, a shell-shaped filled Italian pastry native to Campania. “Sfogliatella” means “small, thin leaf/layer”, as the pastry’s texture resembles stacked leaves and it was created in a monastery in Conca dei Marini in the 17th century.
- Return to Sorrento
- Dinner and evening at leisure
- Overnight at hotel
Day 5 Stone of Matera
- Breakfast at hotel
- Depart Sorrento and drive inland across Southern Italy into the Basilicata region and the town of Matera. In Matera’s Sassi district, ancient homes (Sassi – from the Italian word for “stones”) were dug from the very rock itself. Some believe the Sassi to be the oldest human settlements in Italy. See several rock-hewn churches, a reproduction of a typical cave house that is open to visitors, and refurbished caves that now host hotels and restaurants.
- With the pastures of the Murgia, the golden sea of wheat fields, vineyards and olive groves.
- First stop for a laboratory and tasting of IGP Matera’s bread at a bakery.
- Continue with a cheese tasting in a cheese factory
- Visit an oil mill
- Lunch tasting with the best local products washed down by the finest local wines, in particular the Matera’s Primitivo DOC.
- Meet your Matera guide to explore the unique topography of this town and because of its similarity to Jerusalem, with a large ravine and churches carved of the soft limestone, several movies have been filmed in the Sassi district including Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
- Typical dinner at a local restaurant in the center.
- Overnight at hotel
Day 6 Toward the Adriatic Sea and Puglia
- Breakfast at hotel
- Discover in the Puglia region the historical fortified hilltop town of Ostuni. Ostunifeatures ancient city walls, white buildings on the hillsides, and views across olive groves to the nearby Adriatic Sea. We are now on the opposite coast from Amalfi, with a completely different landscape featuring a gentle slope to the sea instead of the dramatic cliff-side villages of the Amalfi
- Throughout the tour we will see the town’s largest buildings, the Cathedral and Bishop’s Palace, as well some grand homes built for the town’s aristocrats. I
- In the afternoon you will go to a masseriawhere you will enjoy a hands-on pasta making class you will learn the secrets of how to prepare the typical “orecchiette” pasta, literally “little ears”.
- At the end of the class you will sit down and taste the dishes you have prepared, together with a glass of local wine.
- Continue on to Alberobello
- Overnight at hotel
Day 7 Trulli Touring
- Breakfast at hotel
- Visit villages such as Alberobellothat feature buildings designed in the iconic trulli They are shaped like a cylinder with a cone-shaped limestone-tiled roof, which is often painted with a cross or another symbol. The walls are very thick which keeps the interiors cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Residents of this region built the first trulli many centuries ago, but the oldest ones still intact date to the 1500s (recent in Italian terms!).
- Lunch in a typical farmhouse of the region and taste some of the typical local products, like extra virgin olive oil, pickles, cheeses, meats, honey, wines, etc.
- Special farewell dinner featuring regional cuisine in an authentic setting
Day 8 Departure
- Breakfast at hotel
- Transfer to Bari Airport for your return flight home
Daily departures tailor-made by your Italian Destination Specialist
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