Mountains Lakes Villages & Vineyards of 

Italy

 

with

Judith Cullen

Preliminary Itinerary

Your hosts in Italy: Luigi and Isabella Dusi

Thursday 17 to Wednesday 30 September 2009 – 13 nights

Rome Extension Package No. 1 and No. 2 Available

 

   

Day 1.  Arrival Malpensa Airport, Milan - Asti

Thursday 17 September: Luigi and Isabella will meet you at Malpensa Airport. Our first hotel is in Asti, in the region of Piemonte, where we will stay for four nights. Our rooms will not likely be ready at the time of your morning arrival, so we’ll make the most of the morning and begin our explorations of Piemonte. Our route to Asti takes us past the centre of rice growing in Italy. We’ll pause at a risaio, a wonderful example of an ancient Principate where for many centuries they have been producing the most important strains of Italian rice. After our visit we will sit down for a light lunch. We’ll taste risotto prepared by the cooks at the Principate. In the afternoon we’ll reach our hotel which is in the heart of the town of Asti. You will be free to unpack and relax. Isabella will lead an orientation walk of Asti. There’ll be a little free time before we gather for our welcome dinner.

Overnight *** Hotel Aleramo. Asti. Light lunch and Dinner with wines included.

Day 2.  The Valley of the Langhe

Friday  18 September: Today we discover the villages of the Langhe set among gorgeous countryside which, especially in autumn, is easily the equal of the more renown Tuscan countryside. The Langhe is well cultivated and the villages are perched upon ridges which run through a wide and fertile valley. We’ll visit the village of Barolo and taste the wine Barolo right where it is made. Enjoying a panoramic drive through the hills we’ll lunch in a stunning location, discovering the delicious foods of the valley served with a creative hand. In the afternoon we’ll visit a village bakery to see Amaretti being made, and on our return journey a farmer and his family will be our hosts. The farm produces corn for polenta, and also cardo, a vegetable much used in Piemonte cuisine. On our return to Asti you will be free for the evening.

Overnight *** Hotel Aleramo. Asti. Gourmet Lunch with wines included.

Day 3. Market Day  in Asti  - Torino

Saturday September 19: Today is market day in Asti and the uncovered market displays an amazing array of foods of every type as well as home wares and clothing and textiles. Because this is the weekend of the Palio, the market may be reduced in size today. You’ll have the morning free in Asti, and after lunch we’ll gather and travel to Torino, one of Italy’s less visited but delightful cities. You may like to visit the chapel where the Shroud of Turin in kept, or the Palace of the royal family of Savoia. Torino is famous for chocolates and instead of a caffè, in Torino you must indulge in a wicked chocolate concoction at one of the elegant wood panelled 18^th century bars where tuxedo clad waiters are as delectable as the chocolate! The Egyptian Museum in Torino holds an incredible collection of Egyptology – said to be the best outside of Cairo. After our return to Asti, if you go for a stroll through the town, you will see that celebrations are underway as excitement rises for the running of the Palio tomorrow. There will be plenty of singing and banging of drums as the neighbourhoods encourage their jockeys, praying for a winning rider tomorrow.

Overnight ***Hotel Aleramo. Asti.

Day 4.  Palio di Asti

Sunday 20 September: Of all the days to be in Asti, none could be more exciting than today, the day when the running of the annual Palio takes place. You will be thrilled with the historical parade which meanders through the streets, the medieval costumes, trumpets and drums and the passionate races which take place in the heart of Asti. The Palio program begins at 10 am, with various events throughout the day, culminating in the historical parade and flag wavers in the afternoon. After the heats, the final race for the Palio takes place and the winning neighbourhood celebrate well into the wee small hours of the night! You have pre booked ring side seats for an excellent view of a truly magnificent pageant and palio. All events take place within easy walking distance of our hotel. You will be free for the evening and may choose to follow the winning neighbourhood and join the celebrations.

Overnight *** Hotel Aleramo. Asti

Day 5. Lake Orta, Lake Maggiore and Lake Como

Monday 21 September: Today is a travel day. We will not travel a long distance, and we’ll be making some wonderful stops along the way, arriving at our destination in the evening. We depart Asti and travel  to one of the most divine of all the Italian lakes, visiting the once humble fishing village of Orta. The ferrymen will take us across the lake, a ten minute ride, to reach the sacred Island of San Giulio where we’ll discover the history of the Longobards who controlled this region more than a thousand years ago. Departing Orta, taking the lakeside route to Lake Maggiore, we’ll pause at the factory where Alessi kitchen and home products are produced. At the ‘seconds’ shop you’ll have the opportunity to search for bargains and make purchases.

Continuing our journey we’ll soon be travelling the shoreline of Lake Maggiore, another of Italy’s fabulous lakeside retreats. Weaving our way around the lake, our visit will include the ten minute ferry ride to the Borromeo Islands on Lake Maggiore for a tour of the palatial Borromeo Villa and sculptured gardens which rise from the headland of the tiny island. Our day’s journey will finish when we arrive at Lake Como, probably the most well known of all the Italian lakes, where we will stay for three nights. This evening we’ll gather for dinner.

Overnight ***Hotel Posta. Moltrasio Lake Como. Dinner with wines included.

Day 6. Lake Como – Bellagio - Como

Tuesday 22 September: Today will be spent within the precincts of Lake Como, discovering the history, gastronomy and shopping. In the morning our excursion will be a delightful visit to the legendary village of Bellagio at the top of the lake where its two arms meet. You will have time to lunch in this lakeside village.

In the afternoon we’ll cross the lake to the town of Como where you can shop for silks, visit the cathedral and meander inside the medieval walls which still surround the historical centre. Como is a centre for manufacturing, not only silk products, but also fabulous Italian textiles. Tonight you have a choice. You can return to our hotel on an early ferry with your hosts, or you can stay in Como for dinner, returning on a ferry to our hotel after dinner.

Overnight ***Hotel Posta. Moltrasio Lake Como

Day 7. The wealthy city of Milan

Wednesday 23 September: In Italy the saying goes that the money is made in Milan and spent in Rome! The Milanese in the region of Lombardia are well known for their business prowess. The majority of Italy’s wealth, personal and collective, is generated from this city. You can visit the stunning Cathedral, and together we’ll tour La Scala Opera Theatre. You will have free time to enjoy the shopping in the covered Galleria and Via Montenapoleone. Milan is well renown as a centre for haute couture, and the boutiques for clothing, shoes, leather goods and textiles are nothing short of marvellous. The Brera Gallery may attract you, or a fabulous delicatessen, although that term does not encompass all that is on offer, may tempt you to a delicious cafè lunch at Peck, not far from the La Scala Opera Theatre. We’ll return to Como in the late afternoon.

Overnight***Hotel Posta. Moltrasio Lake Como.

Day 8. Lake Garda - Sirmione – Bolzano

Thursday 24 September: Today we depart Lake Como and begin our journey to the stunning Dolomite mountains and the town of Bolzano in the South Tyrol. We’ll pause for a typical lunch of pizza and gelato at the village of Sirmione which sits on a promontory of Lake Garda. Sirmione is a gorgeous village with a stunning medieval castle guarding the moat and ruins of a Roman villa on the promontory. This afternoon we enter an entirely different zone, that of the South Tyrol. This is Italian territory but the lifestyle, food and wine is heavily influenced by Austria and Germany, making it a fascinating gastronomic base offering strudels, mostarda and sauerkraut. Bolzano, known in local Italian/ Austrian dialect as Bozen, is where we’ll stay for three nights to discover the traditions, cultures and gastronomy of these mountain folk who speak more German than Italian, and enjoy a cuisine married to both sides of the oft disputed border.

Overnight***Hotel Figl. Bolzano. Pizza lunch with wines included.

Day 9. Bol zano

Friday 25 September: In Bolzano the colourful daily market encapsulates the freshness of the mountain foods. The zone produces cold climate white wines, pears, apples and cherries, and is also a winter playground for ski-ing. In winter Bolzano is surrounded by snow, and in summer the purple mountains hover overhead, the highest peaks still snow capped. Our day will include a visit to the Ice Man in the archaeological Museum.

The Ice Man was discovered in 1991 by mountain hikers, wedged between rocks and slabs of ice in a crevice of a melting glacier. Known as Otzi, an international dispute developed between Austria and Italy as to who was the rightful owner of Otzi, a 5,500 year old mummy. Expensive mountain surveys took years but, in the end established that Otzi had lain for thousands of years wedged in his icy death chamber a handful of metres inside Italian territory! In 1998 Austrian authorities were forced to surrender Otzi to the museum in Bolzano.  It is intriguing to learn about the curse of the mummy – a curse which mysteriously has touched the majority of those involved in the preservation of Otzi. We’ll gather for a delicious dinner this evening.

Overnight***Hotel Figl. Bolzano. Dinner with wines included.

Day 10. The Dolomite Mountains

Saturday 26 September: This morning we’ll travel higher into the Dolomite mountains. First we pass through mountain meadows, and then rocky canyons and dramatic peaks tower above, bereft of vegetation, and often still snow capped. Today will be a day of fabulous panoramas and thrilling scenery. We’ll wind our way around the stunning Alps not far from the Brenner pass. This will be a fantastic journey.  We’ll return to Bolzano in time for you to enjoy a Saturday evening passeggiata with the locals, and some shopping – Bolzano offers a wonderful array of shops and there are many Ristorante and trattoria for you to mix with the locals for dinner.

Overnight ***Hotel Figl. Bolzano. 

Day 11. Villa Barbaro – Asolo – Castelfranco Veneto.

Sunday 27 September:  First taking the autostrada, we turn to the east and travel the inland route following the River Brenta to arrive at a stretch of hilly countryside in the region of the Veneto. Along the way we’ll visit one of Andrea Palladio’s most famous villas, Villa Barbaro, considered one of his masterpieces. At the enchanting town of Asolo we’ll walk beneath the colonnades and you will see olives Asolani and the famed fruit and nut cake of Asolo, for this mountain town has some unique aspects to its cuisine. As well, we’ll sit together to sip a Bellini, a refreshing aperitivo made with excellent Prosecco wine and peach juice. The Bellini was made famous by the now deceased Queen Mother. You’ll have free time to browse among the antique dealers, and the boutiques selling tassles and exquisite manchester. Asolo was the home of Elanora Duse, and Robert Browning often stayed here. Freya Stark, friend of the Queen of England who fraternised with Indian maharajahs brought silk threads from the east to Asolo which her mother sold in the silk weaving shop which is still here, although Freya, at the age of 90, died a few years ago, and is buried in Asolo’s little cemetery.  Asolo is one of the most enchanting villages in the Veneto. The end of the day will see us in Castelfranco Veneto where we will stay for three nights, dining tonight on the cuisine of the Veneto.

Overnight***Hotel Al Moretto. Castelfranco Veneto. Dinner with wines included.

Day 12. Castelfranco Veneto – Bassano del Grappa

Monday 28 September: This morning we’ll explore Castelfranco Veneto, visiting a stunning work of art by the master of the renaissance, Giorgione, back on view after a restoration which took six years and cost many millions of euro. The town is still celebrating its return to the church for which Giorgione painted it. Castelfranco is a lively town, although Monday morning in Italy generally means that not all the shops will open. This is a zone of mountain cheeses, and mid morning we’ll leave Castelfranco to explore the mountains above, the shepherds and their cheese, where we will have a light lunch.

After lunch we’ll visit one of the north’s special destinations, Bassano del Grappa. Famous not only because of the wooden bridge designed and built by Andrea Palladio, which stretches across the Brenta River, but also as the home of Italian Grappa, that fiery concoction which is either an addiction or despised! But above all, Bassano is a town dear to the heart of every Italian, its citizens having suffered tragically during two world wars. It is a sombre and emotional walk across the bridge; the stoic citizens of Bassano suffered horrendous bombing because of the strategic position of their beautiful town on the banks of the river, with mountain passes through to Austria and Germany at its rear. On our return to Castelfranco Veneto you’ll be free for the evening.

Overnight***Hotel Il Moretto. Castelfranco Veneto. Light Lunch included.

Day 13. Venezia – the Maritime Republic of the Serenissima

Tuesday 29 September:  A full day to enjoy this remarkable city upon the sea. Many visitors do not understand Venice. It is easy to be confused by the crowds, confounded by the tourist stalls, distracted by the glass and disturbed at the price of caffè. Even with a day at your disposal you can penetrate these barriers and come away with an enduring impression of one of the world’s unique, bizarre and fabulous cities. People may say: “Don’t bother to go to Venice, it’s this, or its that…” but Venice is everything….and to miss it is to miss something incredible. You can visit the Basilica of Saint Mark, Palace of the Doge, the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco. Despite the sheer novelty of its improbable self, Venice survives, and continues to attract visitors who adore the history as well as thousands of beckoning shops. Returning to our hotel, we’ll prepare for our farewell dinner.

Overnight***Hotel Il Moretto. Castelfranco Veneto.  Farewell dinner with wines included.

Day 14. Departure – Padova Railway Station

Wednesday 30 September: Our 13 night Mountains Lakes Villages & Vineyard journey finishes this morning. Following breakfast guests will be transferred to Padova Railway Station with an anticipated arrival of 10 am. If you require a transfer to Venice Airport please advise your booking agent so that your Italian tour hosts can organise the transfer for you, which will be at your expense. You are advised not to book on any flight departing Venice prior to 1400 so as to allow adequate travel and check in time. If you are departing Padova railway station for an alternative destination, please do not book train departure prior to 10.30 am. If your departure plans do not coincide with group departure arrangements you will need to make private arrangements which will be at your expense. Your tour hosts have no control over and take no responsibility for traffic, weather, or any other kind of delay on the morning of departure.

If you are not adding Rome Extension Package  No.1 or No. 2 to your holiday your tour finishes this morning when we bid you farewell at the Padova Railway Station.  It is your responsibility to advise your booking agent of your onward travel plans so that your hosts in Italy are aware of your post tour arrangements.