This morning we will meet in Soriano’s Piazza for our daily breakfast, then do the shopping for today’s class before heading back down to the villa.

Today we will learn how to make Italy's famous after dinner lemon liqueur, delicious and authentic Biscotti, Granita, and Gelato.

Besides the traditional Limoncello, we’ll also make our own family recipe for Crema di Limoncello (Limoncello Cream Liquor).

Our Biscotti today will be a local specialty known as ‘Tozzeti’, which are delicious Hazelnut biscotti, traditionally dipped in wine when eaten.

While our Biscotti are baking, we’ll make a wonderfully unique Dark Chocolate Pepperoncino Gelato, Hazelnut Gelato (Made with local hazelnuts), and Lemon Granita.

Throughout the class, rather than have a full lunch, we will pick on local salame, cheese, and the results of our class.

When today’s class is over, you will take home a ˝ liter bottle of each Limoncello we make, plus a bag of our Biscotti to take home when the week is over (as if they will last that long).

After class, we will give you some free time to take a break during the afternoon in Soriano before we head out toward the nearby city of Viterbo for the late afternoon and evening. Viterbo is the first major city heading north from Rome. It boasts great historic significance, as it served as the seat of the Pope for years during the 13th century.

We'll first pay a visit to the Bulicame Hot Springs, rich with history dating back to Ancient Roman times when it was believed that bathing here would cleanse a person of their sins. Moving forward in time, Dante mentions these springs in Canto XIV of “Inferno” where he wanders past a pool oozing with boiling red water and is reminded of these springs “whose waters are shared with prostitutes.” Even Michelangelo was drawn here to paint the remains of the ancient Roman baths, and several popes of the middle ages attribute having been cured of their ailments by the water here. Today the Bulicame springs are the stuff of legend. People come from all over the world to bathe in the natural pools in search for all kinds of cures. In that tradition, those wanting to take a dip will have the chance to bathe in the same waters as popes, Dante, Michelangelo, and the Ancient Romans.

Next, we will visit the Papal Palace, the ‘unofficial’ Vatican during a time when life in Rome was considered too dangerous for the Popes and Cardinals. In fact, this is where the first papal conclave occurred, and where the tradition of white and black smoke began in the choosing of a new pope.

In addition to the Papal Palace, Viterbo holds the distinction of having what is considered to be the best preserved medieval quarter in the whole of Europe.

We’ll stroll the streets of the medieval quarter, then take some time for shopping on Viterbo’s Corso shopping district before having dinner in this magnificent city.

We’ll have dinner in a local restaurant that creates extremely unique dishes based on recipes from Etruscan history.

One of our most popular daily excursions is our days to the wineries of Southern Tuscany… our day of Brunello. Today is a Modified version of that itinerary that takes us slightly off the beaten path, too.

We’ll start the day with a drive to The Orcia Valley -- known for the best Chianti wines, such as Brunello and Vino Nobile. Our first stop will be in the Tuscan hilltown of Montepulciano, where we will be given a private tour of the 14th century wine cellar that was built underneath the Palace of Cardinal Ricci, and is widely considered to be the most beautiful wine cellar in the world. After the cellar tour, we will participate in a complete tasting of Montepulciano’s fantastic wines, as well as a asting of some local cheeses and salames.

After our tasting, we will drive the Orcia Valley Wine Road, gazing at the breathtaking vistas as we wind through what is arguably the most beautiful part of Tuscany to Montalcino, home of the world-renowned Brunello wines. Here visit the beautiful Croce di Mezzo winery. We'll be hosted by the owners of this small family winery as they give us a full tour of their facilities, followed by a private lunch served by the family.

After lunch and a little relaxation time, we will go to the town of Bagno Vignoni, an off-the-beaten path village in the Orcia Valley Chianti wine region that holds the unique distinction of having a large pool (fed by a hot spring) that makes up its main square (piazza). Dating back to Roman time and though the middle ages, this was an extremely popular spa in ancient times, and makes for an extremely beautiful Tuscan Hilltown today.

Finally, we will proceed to the beautiful town of Pienza, best known for its world-renowned 'Pecorino di Pienza' cheese. We will stroll the beautiful streets of this lovely village as we shop and taste all kinds of pecorino cheese in the factory-direct stores.

We'll have a quick bite to eat just outside of Pienza after this long day before proceeding back to Soriano.

After a long day at the Wineries, we’ll take it a bit easier today. We’ll meet in Piazza for breakfast and shopping for today’s class before we head down to the villa to begin our next class.

In class today, we will make two different kinds of pasta called ‘Ciufetti’. These are little pasta purses, somewhat like ravioli, but much more juicy and flavorful. The first will be pear and gorgonzola stuffed ciufetti with a raddichio and speck sauce, while the second will be stuffed with raddichio and speck in a cream sauce. To say these are sure to be the most incredible pasta dishes you will ever have is an understatement. Our appetizer today will be a local dish called 'Sutrine', which are an Italian dish somewhat similar to crepes, sprinkled with parmesean and romano cheese. For our second course, we will learn to make Involtini Eddarella (Veal rolls stuffed with mortadella and celery, sauteed in white wine). Finally, we will make lemon granita for dessert.

After lunch we will give you some time to rest and take in Soriano for the afternoon. Later in the early evening we will go up to the Faggeta forest that sits at the summit of the mountain above Soriano.

We’ll take a leisurely stroll around this magnificent beech forest before heading to dinner at an extremely unique Pizzeria that serves seemingly endless varieties of pizza ‘by the meter’. We will laugh and drink wine and beer while we sample pizza selections like you have never dreamed of. Tonight's pizza will be one you will dream of long after you have returned home!

This morning we will all meet in a local coffee bar and pastry shop that is in Soriano’s main Piazza. Here we will have out traditional Italian breakfast of freshly baked pastries and cappuccino.

After breakfast, we will head into the Umbrian countryside past the towns of Narni (The inspiration for C.S. Lewis’ Narnia) and Terni (The home of St. Valentine) to the village of Marmore, at the edge of Lake Piediluco and the top of the breathtaking Marmore Falls. The Marmore Falls are not only the tallest waterfalls in Europe, but are also the oldest man-made waterfalls in the world, having been created by the Ancient Romans in an effort to fight disease in the nearby city of Rieti. Here, we will begin at the top of the waterfalls and walk alongside (and behind) the falls to the base.

Once at the bottom of the falls, we will stop at a ‘Porchetta Truck’ for lunch. Porchetta (Roasted suckling pig) is a favorite among Italians, and is usually found in Central Italy at places like this. It is so popular that people will drive for hours to get Porchetta off ‘just the right truck’. Here we will have a traditional Panino di Porchetta and a soft drink before we continue on.

We’ll next drive to the nearby village of Ferentillo that has one extremely bizarre claim to fame: Mummies. These aren’t just any mummies, however. The local church happens to have been built on soil that has a unique fungus that causes bodies to naturally mummify, and as such these mummies are counted among the best preserved in the world. Words and pictures cannot adequately describe it, but suffice it to say that virtually every guest we have brought here as counted it among the highlights of their trip.

Finally we will drive up to the castle that sits atop the medieval town of Labro, overlooking the beautiful Lake Piediluco. Here we will meet with Prince Riccardo Nobili-Vitteleschi, who will give us a private tour of his home, the castle.

After visiting the castle, we will relax a bit around the beautiful Lake Piediluco before going to the town of Narni, the namesake and inspiration for C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe", which was most recently made into the Disney 'Chronicles of Narnia' films. We will dine in a wonderful below-ground tavern before heading back to Soriano for the night.

This morning we start our morning with our daily breakfast before doing shopping for our final class. Once shopping is done, we will go to the nearby dying city of Civita di Bagnoregio, a nearly deserted town that was originally built by the Etruscans in the 6th century BC. It is called the dying city because it is literally crumbling away thanks to thousands of years of erosion, to the point that it is now accessible only by a foot bridge. Civita resembles a ghost town, but is extremely well kept as a place where time is frozen. While there, we will visit Civita's ancient olive mill that was built by the ancient Etruscans.

Next we will take a short drive to a small family-run winery and olive mill in the village of Castiglione in Teverina. Here, one of the owners will give us a private tour of their wine cellar and olive mill, followed by a tasting of their line of wines and their olive oil, as well as a light lunch based on local specialties.

We will then go back to the villa for our final class and farewell dinner...

For class today we will start with fried zucchine flowers (when in season) as an appetizer, then follow with a Raddichio & Proscuitto cream Risotto for the first course. Our secoind course will be Chicken Cacciatore with a side dish of Caponata, followed by Tiramisu for dessert.

Unfortunately our week comes to a close this morning. For those that are leaving, we will have breakfast in Piazza before an early morning trip to the airport and/or cruise terminal, exchange hugs and say ‘see you soon’ to our new friends. For those departing to other parts of Italy, we will bring you to the train station as needed. If you have later flights out, we will be happy to arrange for a private car (additional fee) to take you to Rome, the airport, ceuise terminal, or trains. For those choosing to continue with week #2, you will have the entire day to relax in Soriano, or to venture out on your own. We will be more than happy to help you with the logistics of this ‘on your own’ day while we take care of seeing people off and welcoming new guests.