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 ½ 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 Orvieto which is the home to one of Italy’s most magnificent cathedrals, as well as the world-renowned white Orvieto Classico wine and beautiful ceramics shops.. Here we will give you the afternoon and early evening free to explore this wonderful cliff-top town & do some tastings.

After our morning breakfast we will head out for a day full of wine and cheese in beautiful Southern Tuscany.

We’ll start be heading up to Montepulicano, then driving the Orcia Valley Wine route through this picturesque wine region which evokes the classic image of Tuscan rolling hills. Our first stop will be at the small family run Casanova di Neri winery in Montalcino, which is widely considered the best of the Brunello wines... So much so that their 2001 Brunello was rated as the #1 wine of the year by Wine Spectator Magazine in 2006. Here we will have a private tasting with the owners of the winery.

Next we will proceed a few miles to the stunning St. Antimo Abbey, a beautiful Romanesque church that dates back to the 9th century. It sits in a valley just outside of Montalcino, surrounded by fields and olive groves. Here we will witness the monks in the Gregorian Chant during the brief service.

After the service, we will visitg the Croce di Mezzo winery in Montalcino, where we will have a winery tour and a tasting of their fantastic Brunello wines, followed by lunch at the winery.

After lunch, we’ll take the short drive to beautiful Pienza, known for its incredible Pecorino cheese. You will have a some time to walk around this charming village, do some Pecorino cheese tastings and some shopping before we leave for the town of Montepulciano, where we will do our final tasting and tour of the day.

Montepulciano is known for its Vino Nobile wine, a competitor for the Brunellos. Here we will tour the town’s ancient 14th century 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.

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.

Note: On the week starting September 26, tonight should be the opening ceremonies of the Chestnut Festival in Soriano. On this evening we will return back to Soriano a little early, watch the opening ceremonies, and have dinner in one of the festival taverns.

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.

Note: On the week starting September 26, tonight should hold festivities in Soriano for the Chestnut Festival. If this is the case, the class will be held for lunch and the dying city & winery will be immediately after lunch.

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.