7 Day Farm-to-Table Luxury Gastronomic Retreat in the Heart of Untouched Italy

Facilities

Day 1 - Arrival and welcome

Arrive at Villa Olivo to a welcome Aperitivo. Take your time to settle in, meet the other guests and restore in the in-home gym, spa or tennis courts. Or, if you want to stretch your legs, you could walk up to the 13th-century village of Civitanova Alta a few minutes up the road and grab a coffee or freshly made gelato. Later, see the chefs at work and enjoy your first beautifully cooked, typical three-course Marchigiana meal.

Day 2 - Olive oil and pasta making course

After breakfast, visit an award-winning olive grove, using rarely used, traditional methods to produce extra virgin olive oil, the Italian liquid gold. Next, enjoy an olive oil tasting session, you'll even get to taste an olive oil jam! See the olives being carefully collected from the trees. You'll even get to see their 600-year-old olive tree!

After lunch, get hands-on and learn how to make three different pastas and complementary sauces, Ascolani olives, and delicious cremini fritti. Later enjoy a delicious meal.

Day 3 - Wine tasting in the hilltops

Celebrate the annual Appassimenti in a tiny hilltop village surrounded by five wineries. Appassimenti is a unique drying process, rooted in Roman times. The grapes are hung and dried before crushing, which enables them to achieve a unique taste to the wine. One of the highest vineyards in Italy, these unique wineries that hang their grapes, produce the only black Vernaccia in the land. Later, enjoy a delicious three-course risotto dinner at Villa Olivo.

Day 4 - Traditional cheese and pizza making

Experience the art of traditional cheese-making using authentic methods passed down through generations. Learn how to make three types of cheeses from cow's milk and how to stretch your own mozzarella.

Using your cheese, make a typical Calcione ricotta dessert as well as Crescia Marchigiana (a typical bread from the area). Later, learn the art of creating the perfect pizza base, and then use your freshly made cheese as part of your ingredients! After a trip to the spa, enjoy your creations over dinner.

Day 5 - Truffle hunting in the hills

Dust off your apron and put on your walking shoes to learn the art of truffle hunting whilst enjoying the Italian countryside. Learn how to find and collect them as well as how to recognize the different types.

Enjoy an authentic truffle lunch where you can try different seasonal truffles and savor their unique flavor. Later, take some time to relax your tired legs in the spa and then look forward to an incredible truffle dinner back at the Villa.

Day 6 - Ascoli Piceno, vineyard with a view and fine dining

Visit the beautiful medieval Ascoli Piceno where you can find a fantastic mixture of delicious food, a lively historic center full of ancient Roman buildings, monuments, and theatres including two incredible piazzas. Enjoy your free time here, and on your way back visit a vineyard overlooking the region's patchwork hills. Come home to your last dinner created by your personal chefs; an incredible fine dining experience with paired wines.

Day 7 - Goodbye brunch

Enjoy breakfast at Villa Olivo, swap details with the friends you have made, and receive a little gift bag complete with recipe cards and a little gift from Villa Olivo to you.

• Visit the winemakers and vineyards
• Go truffle hunting
• Visit olive oil producers
• Travel through the Monte Sibilini Mountains
• Visit Ascoli Piceno

Discover the beauty, history, and culture of one of Italy’s most enchanting regions, Le Marche. Recently voted as the number 2 worldwide region to visit in 2020 by Lonely Planet and heralded by the Telegraph, Epoch Times, and Forbes magazine as "Tuscany without the crowds."

Le Marche is truly the best of Italy wrapped up in one region, perfectly situated and within easy driving distance of most places around Italy.

Le Marche is one of Italy’s most unspoilt and picturesque regions. Easily accessible by plane, train and car, this enchanting area is nestled between the dramatic Sibillini mountains and the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. Situated in the East of Italy, Le Marche offers all the natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of Tuscany, but without the crowds.

Here, you can discover an authentic way of life, where the seasons lead the daily rhythms of the people and the local industry. With its endless coastlines of clean, quiet beaches, breathtaking mountain ranges and charming historic towns, Le Marche ticks all the boxes for those seeking an authentic Italian escape, and perfect to see traditional methods of recipes and production techniques passed down from one generation to the next.

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Meals will vary from in-cooked meals by your very own chefs, to lunches outside the Villa and Estate. You will experience a mix of typical Marchigiana meals alongside fine dining menus.

All drinks during the meals are included. Any alcoholic or soft drinks consumed outside of the meals are additional and can be paid for at the end of your stay.

There are many things to do in the area, such as visits to the mountains, local designer shops or the beautiful coastline areas such as the Conero area. Please send an inquiry for more information.

Should you wish to have a spa treatment such as Thai massage, Ayurvedic massage, yoga session or personal trainer session, please let Villa Olivo know when making a reservation, they can book this in for your stay.

• 6 nights' luxury accommodation - all en-suite
• Use of all facilities including spa, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room, gym, heated pool, and tennis court
• Over 10 hours of cooking lessons where you will to make cheese, pizza base, pasta, sauces, bread, desserts and traditional local dishes
• Breakfast, lunch and 3-course dinners prepared by your personal chefs throughout your stay
• Wine and prosecco during meals, water, and soft drinks
• All included tours and transportation to vineyards, Apassimenti (November only), truffle hunting, olive oil tours, tastings, transportation and meeting local farmers
• Visit Ascoli Piceno and high-quality vineyard including transportation
• Access to significant discounts on purchasing wine to take home
• Daily housekeeping
• Complimentary Davines toiletries
• Luxury magazines
• Recipe cards to take home

• Transportation too and from Villa Olivo (this can be arranged on request)
• Flights to Italy
• Wine, alcoholic beverages outside of mealtimes
• Other additional activities such as massages

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 20% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.