Food and Wine Tour of Italy with Fr. Leo Patalinghug

Depart on an overnight flight from Indianapolis to Turin. Premium economy and business class upgrades are available upon request.

Welcome to Italy. Upon arrival, meet our Italian, English-speaking tour manager and board our motorcoach. We are transferred to the Turin city center to celebrate Mass in the Church of St John (Blessed Pier Giorgio Frasatti and San Giovanni Bosco). Lunch is on our own at the Eataly, the famous Italian food emporium. In the afternoon, we see the replica of the Shroud of Turin, before departing for Pollenzo for dinner and overnight. (D) The schedule for the first day depends on the flight arrival time.

After breakfast, we board our motorcoach for a 30-minute bus drive to the village of Alba. Upon arrival, celebrate Holy Mass. Alba is a picturesque town in the heart of Piedmont renowned worldwide for its succulent white truffles, velvety red Barolo and Barbaresco wines, and wonderful fruit. Enjoy the site of castles, medieval palaces and towers, and many churches. From the middle of September to the end of December, the truffle hunters from Alba scour the secret pathways among the hills of the Langhe and Roero areas. We will be guided by a Trifolao (truffle hunter) and his trusty hound among hills and woods to learn the secrets of this precious hunt for white Alba Truffle. Lunch today is in a local restaurant to taste the Truffles. After lunch, we board our coach and head toward Barolo. This famous little town is the destination for those who love Italian food and wine. They come to taste the grapes and see the wine museum WIMU. We have a wine tasting followed by a visit to the WIMU – Settled in a thousand-year-old castle, this is Italy’s most innovative wine museum. Instead of focusing on soil, grape varieties, and fermentation, the Swiss architect François Confino takes you on a sensory tour through the history of wine in nature, art, cooking, cinema, music, literature, myth, and traditions. After our tour, we drive to Cherasco to visit the Ravera Chocolate factory to taste the “Baci Ravera di Cherasco,” which are the leading products of this factory. With the purest Piemonte I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication) extra plain chocolate and hazelnuts, these typical chocolates are prepared entirely by hand. Return to the hotel and have some time on your own. Overnight Pollenzo. Dinner is on your own tonight. (B.L)

After breakfast, our journey takes us to Bologna, the breadbasket of Italy. Known as the ultimate Italian foodie city, it houses the oldest university in Europe, the unfinished Basilica of San Petronio, 21 remaining medieval towers, and most importantly, some of the world’s most-loved foods. In Bologna, meat-filled tortellini, tortelli, lasagna and tagliatelle al ragù rule the local culinary DNA. We stroll through the food shops and stalls surrounding Mercato di Mezzo, a commercial center from the Middle Ages whose street names signify the foods that can be found there. Here you find a variety of cured meats, mortadella, and local cheeses, including Parmesan, and you can eat like a local, pairing the food with a glass or two of local wines like bubbly Pignoletto or red Lambrusco. We celebrate Mass at the Basilica of San Dominico, where St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, is buried. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure to explore the city on your own. Our pasta dinner tonight will be accompanied by local wine. Overnight Bologna. (B.D)

After a leisurely breakfast, we depart Bologna driving through the magnificent Tuscan scenery toward the Tuscan Villa, which is situated between Tuscany and Umbria and our home for the next six nights. En route, we stop for Mass and lunch. The afternoon is yours to relax, unpack, take a long nap and enjoy the magnificent setting in one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. Dinner is at the villa. (B.D)

We visit the wine region of Chianti, in the heart of Tuscany. This wine region is the romanticized Italy of daydreams: terra-cotta-roofed towns, wine-soaked dinners, and rolling vineyards. Greve in Chianti is the region’s principal town and hosts a long-running Saturday morning market that we visit. We visit the informative Museo del Vino to learn about Chianti’s viticulture, where most exhibits are underground in former wine cellars. The collection spans hand-cranked wine presses, rudimentary corking contraptions, and other old tools of the trade. But most interesting is the area that introduces us to another world-famous explorer with supposed ties to the region: Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the Americas were named. Descend into the sprawling cellar of Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti for a light lunch of regional products on your own. Starting with the vino, choose among scores of wines that are dispensed from high-tech machines designed to preserve wine quality after bottles are opened. Try a Tignanello, one of the original Super-Tuscans, or compare the Chianti Classico of different vineyards by using the simple automated system: insert a card purchased at the register, press the button corresponding to the wine you want, and out pours a taste into your glass. Munch on a panino stuffed with fennel-flavored salami or a platter of pecorino and prosciutto crostini. Finish the meal by sampling local olive oils or grappa. Our next stop is at a winery & contemporary art museum, now part of the Castello di Ama winery, one of Chianti’s finest. The art collection consists of a dozen permanent contemporary art pieces located in a wine cellar. A two-hour guided winery visit includes a tour of the artworks and a tasting of the estate’s fruity olive oil, pressed on-site, and the prestigious wines of the vintner Marco Pallanti. We return back to our villa for a light dinner. (B.D)

In the morning, we explore the lovely, historic town of San Gimignano, the epitome of a Tuscan hill town with fourteen remaining medieval towers, for a morning of discovery. Here we celebrate Mass, search out the gourmet shops that specialize in the best saffron in all of Italy, and enjoy a tasting of freshly-made salami that is well-known in this region. Following lunch on your own in one of the great local restaurants, we do some food shopping before returning to our villa, where Fr. Leo will take us on a fascinating cooking exploration of local dishes. Overnight Tuscan villa. (B.D)

Our coach takes us today to the village of Montalcino, a beautiful village immersed in the breathtaking Val d’Orcia Natural Park, renowned worldwide for producing its precious Brunello red wine. The town has scarcely changed in appearance since the 16th century. The historical center is dominated by the mighty and imposing Rocca, or fortress built in 1361 to mark the passage of Montalcino under the domination of Siena. The views from its ramparts are spectacular, stretching towards Monte Amiata, across the Crete to Siena, and across all of the Valdorcia and the hills of Maremma. We visit a farm near Pienza, the town famous for producing Pecorino Cheese, made from an especially flavorsome and aromatic milk, thanks to sheep pastures in Val d’Orcia. Enjoy a tour and cheese tasting. Back at our villa, we try our hand at making pizza for tonight’s pizza and wine party. (B. Light lunch. Pizza dinner)

After breakfast at the villa, we travel to Florence, where we meet our local guide and soon discover why Florence is the undisputed cradle of the Renaissance era. One is almost breathless of art and culture in its charming medieval streets, craftsmen’s workshops, Renaissance palaces, and world-renowned museums. The legacy of the Medici family is found in the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli. We see the Basilica of Santa Croce, where famous Italian artists such as Michelangelo and Machiavelli are buried. Explore Piazza della Signoria, the Baptistry of St. John, and Michelangelo’s Gates of Paradise. We walk to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, with the imposing cupola by Brunelleschi and Giotto’s Bell Tower. We’ll then visit the busy San Lorenzo Market in the city’s heart! Enjoy the site of artisan bread in all shapes and sizes, tables overflowing with fruits and vegetables fresh from the farms, and the immense variety of cheeses and cured meats. Choose your lunch at the market before we return to the villa this afternoon to pack and prepare for our delightful farewell dinner in a local restaurant. (B. Farewell dinner)

After breakfast, we check out of our villa and travel to Florence airport for our flight home. (B)