Fall Week 1

Benvenuti a Napoli! Dan and Maria extend a warm welcome as you arrive in the vibrant city of Naples.* Our journey begins with a quintessential Neapolitan experience—a stop for un caffè and a delicious sfogliatella, a pastry that originated in this historic city. From Naples, we make our way to Sant’Angelo a Cupolo, just outside Benevento, where our home for the week will be Le Peonie Agriturismo

Nestled in the ancient family lands of olive orchards, vineyards and fruit trees Le Peonie is surrounded by rich history and serene beauty. Anna Maria will be our host this week. She will be sharing with us this charming farmhouse and the exquisite cuisine that Chef Alessandro creates especially for us.

Anna Maria is passionate about the integrity of the ingredients and products used at the agriturismo. As a proud member of “Campagna Amica e Coldiretti”, a foundation that supports agriculture and food products “made in Italy”, she adheres to exacting standards to offer a daily menu based on seasonal ingredients and exceptional products. She proudly adheres to the “zero kilometer” philosophy, a movement supporting sustainability by using products that do not require transport but are only grown and made on-site or in the immediate area (less than 1 km). After we arrive at the agriturismo take the time to settle in and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Take a walk on the path along the small river that runs through the property that leads to Benevento. We will reconvene in the late afternoon for a wine tasting and refreshments.

Later that evening we will meet in the dining room where Chef Alessandro’s welcome dinner will introduce you to the pleasures of local and “zero-kilometer” cuisine. Get ready for sublime seasonal dishes.**

*The program starts at noon on Monday at Naples Capodichino Airport, regardless of when you arrive in Italy. Dan and Maria will be at the airport arrival area between 10:00 am and noon.

We suggest that you plan on arriving in Naples before the first day of the program to be ready to enjoy the planned excursions from day one. We recommend the following hotels in Naples: Hotel San Francesco al Monte; Starhotels Terminus and Decumani Hotel de Charme

**Note: In Italy, dinner is typically enjoyed later in the evening, around 8 pm or so. We’ll be dining in true Italian style throughout our stay.

This morning, dress casually and comfortably because we are heading for a hands-on harvesting experience in San Lorenzello, Maria’s birthplace. After breakfast, we leave the palazzo and make our way to the Fappiano winery. This is a special place for Maria as the vineyards are close to the family land that Maria’s dad used to own while she was growing up. This immersive experience takes us through the entire wine making cycle. We begin when Mario takes us to the vineyard to harvest the grapes. After harvesting, we bring them to the winery to be crushed so they can start the journey into becoming wine. We will then learn about the bottling of the wine.

We will be experiencing an authentic harvesting pranzo. These midday meals are prepared by the casalinghe (homemakers) as it is customary to feed those that help with the harvest. The meal is usually eaten in the vineyards picnic style, but we will be “roughing it” a bit less by having ours at the farmhouse.

We return to Le Peonie, where Anna Maria has organized an olive oil tasting for us. The staple of the Mediterranean cuisine, olive oil is a precious commodity in the Sannio. We will learn about flavor profiles and methods of turning olives into oil.

Dinner tonight will highlight the excellent oil as well as other choice ingredients selected by Anna Maria and Chef Alessandro. We will be enjoying the evening al fresco with live music from local musicians.

Today, after breakfast, we have the privilege of spending the day with Anna Maria and Chef Alessandro in a very hands-on, immersive experience—a cooking class and more. We will shop for and gather ingredients with Chef, selecting them based on freshness and quality. Chef will then show us how to prepare and cook these ingredients to optimize their flavors.

Working with Chef, cooking the dishes, learning some tips, and perhaps even a secret or two for creating simple yet elevated dishes promises a truly unique day. The warm atmosphere, the excellent dishes, and the fine wines of the area come together for a rewarding and delicious experience.

Today, we explore two villages of the Sannio region, each with its own unique charm. After breakfast, we depart for Cerreto Sannita, a small town of approximately 4,000 people dating back millennia. But what we will see today is the new town built around 1688, when the town was rebuilt after a potent earthquake destroyed the original town. We will make our way, to the family-owned Mozzarella D’oro, a local and excellent fromagerie. Ana Cenicola, the owner is opening her laboratorio so we can discover how milk is turned into the iconic mozzarella and other specialties.

After our tour, we will walk to the town center. Feel free to enjoy un caffe’ as we make our way to the Ceramic Museum. Cerreto is known for its master ceramicists and potters who maintain traditional pottery making techniques and color palettes. The museum is housed in a 17^th century building originally built as a convent for cloistered nuns. Through the years it has also served as a monastery and even a jail. Today, it houses this gem of a museum, the town hall, and a courtyard which is often used for concerts and art exhibits. After a brief tour, we will meet a master potter for a demonstration of these traditional methods. After our visit, we wind our way up the hills, through vineyards and breathtaking views, for lunch at a family trattoria. Lunch will be made using products from their own farm.

We then return to Le Peonie where we will enjoy some downtime before getting together for a wine tasting and apericena (appetizers). The appetizers will include what we consider a real treat, Provola impiccata, a cheese slowly melted over a fire and spread on bread, as well as other delicacies such as grilled mortadella.

We will then have a light dinner al fresco accompanied by live music.

This morning after breakfast we head to Benevento, the largest town in the Sannio. It is believed to have been founded after the Trojan War by Diomedes and it dates to at least 300 B.C. We will get a glimpse of its historical significance through its antiquities as we stroll through the pedestrian-only center where you can see the Arc of Trajan erected by the Romans in 114 A.D. The Arc remains one of the best-preserved Roman structures in the Campania region. You can also see the Church of Santa Sofia, a UNESCO world heritage site, built c. 760 A.D. If you would like to explore further, you can walk a kilometer or so to the Roman Theater, a semi-circular theater originally built to hold ten to fifteen thousand spectators. Or you can forego the long walk to the Theater and continue to stroll through the center, where you can enjoy a coffee, pastry, gelato, or do some shopping.

Later, we will all reconvene to have a traditional lunch at Locanda Scialapopolo, a family run trattoria specializing in “cucina povera”, or poor man’s food. We will be sampling delicious specialties all served by Scialapopolo’s husband and wife team. Be prepared to become part of their family! After lunch, we make our way to the Strega Stabilimento for a tour and tasting. Strega is an iconic herbal liquor first made in 1860 in Benevento. It is still made only here and remains a proprietary recipe. Its unique floral aroma makes it a perfect after dinner liquor, and an excellent flavoring for desserts, such as the traditional Christmas torrone.

After some downtime at Le Peonie, we will head back to Benevento for supper. Tonight is the first of a two-night pizza exploration. We start with a non-traditional style pizza this evening. Made with exceptional products, it is a delicious alternative to the famous, traditional Neapolitan-style.

No visit to the Sannio is complete without experiencing a traditional mercato, or outdoor market. On Saturday, Benevento becomes even more alive with an outdoor market, where locals shop for everything from fresh produce to artisanal goods, clothing, and more. After breakfast, we’ll spend the morning browsing the stalls, soaking in the vibrant atmosphere and, in all likelihood, picking up a few treasures to take home.

After the mercato, we will head back to Le Peonie and enjoy a cool drink before we head to the charming San Marco dei Cavoti. This tiny town is best known for making “torroncini” (nougat confections) that are traditionally enjoyed during the Christmas holidays. However, they are always worth the indulgence, even in June. We’ll also stop at a local restaurant for lunch. Save room for dessert though as we will then head to an iconic pasticerria and torrificeria that has been making these torroncini and other pastries since the 1890s.

We will then return to Le Peonie for some relaxation before our second night of pizza exploration. Tonight, we visit a traditional Neapolitan-style pizzeria in nearby Pietrelcina. Both the pizza last night and tonight are different than what we typically have in the U.S.

This morning after a leisurely breakfast and a late morning, we will head to the Matese mountain area. Maria and Dan want to share with you one of their favorite towns. Cusano Mutri, perfectly embodying medieval architecture complete with a castle, is famous for its porcini mushrooms, which are foraged in the surrounding woods. This month, the extremely popular porcini festival is in full swing. Almost impossible to navigate in the evening, due to the influx of people filling the tiny streets that are already jammed with street food stalls, we will instead have the pleasure of seeing some of the offerings relatively easily during the day.

After strolling through the medieval streets, we head to the neighboring hamlet of Pietraroja, famous for the paleontological discovery in 1980 of the dinosaur fossil Scipionyx Samniticus, nicknamed “Ciro”. But today, we explore another gem of Pietraroja: a prosciuttificio (where prosciutto is made). Here, the Di Biase family continues the centuries-old tradition of producing prosciutto, creating what has become the gold standard in the Sannio region for this delicacy. We will have a tour of the cellars where the prosciutto is cured in a controlled environment. Our lunch will feature their famous prosciutto and other local specialties cooked by the Di Biase husband and wife team, in the tiny kitchen of the prosciutteria. We will be served in the cozy, ancient home turned museum/restaurant that has been lovingly maintained by the family.

We will then return to Le Peonie, where we will relax before we dine at an exquisite restaurant on the outskirts of Benevento for a memorable farewell dinner.

We have our final breakfast before departing for Naples Capodichino Airport.

Time to bid farewell to the Sannio and return home with memories of a week filled with history, culture, and incredible food. Safe travels and arrivederci!