Molise Cooking Tour & Day Trip to Tremiti Island

Free Airport pick up (Rome or Naples).

Drive from the aiport towards Molise and onwards to the small town of San Martino in Pensilis. You will be dropped at your accomodation, Hotel Santoianni, where you will be staying. After you are settled in your rooms there will be a short meeting for a briefing of the tour followed by a Welcome Dinner.

At 8:00 we’ll leave for Agnone, the center for important archaeological vestiges of the old Oscan-Samnite civilization. Agnone is sometimes called “the Athens of the Sannio” due to the large number of ancient ruins of the Samnitic culture. According to the tradition, the name of Agnone derives from the old city of Aquilonia that was destroyed by the Romans.

Agnone also lays claim to the most important ancient Molise document: the so-called “Oscan Tablet” (“Tabula Osca”), a bronze inscription written in the Oscan alphabet that dates from the 3rd century BC and now kept in the British Museum.

The first visit will be the Marinelli Bell Foundry. The Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli is an ancient factory for bells which has been operating in Agnone for nearly a millennium. It ranks as one of the oldest companies in the world, where the Marinelli family has run the foundry for the last 1000 years.

After the foundry we’ll visit the The “Francesco Gerbasi” Museum of Copper, one of the last places where you can learn about the ancient art of copper making.

The final visit of the day will be the Di Nucci Cheese Makers renown for their aged Caciocavallo di Agnone. The visit will include the chance to taste some of these beautful  cheeses for yourself.

Lunch will be at La Panonda where you be treated to some of the best cuisine the local area has to offer.

After a drive back the days Cooking Class will kick off at 5:30 followed by Dinner

After breakfast we are off to Termoli to visit the Old Port buy fish that will be used in our cooking class. At 11:ooam we’ll take our fresh fish to the day’s Cooking Class.

After Lunch we will take a short drive to Larino, a city of approximately 8,100 inhabitants. The city of Larino has been continuously inhabited for millennia. Originally settled by the Samnite and Frentani tribes of Southern Italy, the city came under the control of the Oscan civilization. In 217 BC, the Romans defeated Hannibal here, and it was later incorporated into the Roman Empire.

We will visit the Roman Amphitheater with a dedicated guide. The elliptical amphitheater was built in the 1st century AD by a prominent citizen of Larino who had made his fortune in far away Rome. The arena could comfortably seat 12,000 spectators.

After we’ll head over to Palazzo Zappone which was probably originally built as a Norman castle. The palace is now repainted as it would have looked decades ago. The structure has three distinct facades. One distinctly shows the physical structure of the original castle. The second has a renaissance feel and housed the rulers of the town. The third is a large brick neoclassical structure which was adjoined to the castle in the 19th century.

The day will also include a visit to the Civic Museum and Larino’s Cathedral, which is considered to be one of the finest in Italy.

Then off for some Olive Oil & Wine Tasting. The Olive Oil tasting will take place at Paarco dei Buoi Larino  before we head to Cantina Tenimenti Grieco whose grapes come from fields overlooking the Adriatic coast at altitudes above 150 meters. Here we will enjoy wine tasting and a visit the wine cellar

That evening we’ll meet for an Aperitivo followed by Dinner.

Today we’ll be heading to the beautiful Tremiti Islands, known for their beautifully clear waters and quiet coves. The Islands are a short ferry ride from Termoli.

The day will be spent relaxing, sunbathing and exploring the two main Islands; San Domino & San Nicola. San Domino is the main tourist destination with its popular sandy beach. San Nicola boasts the site of a monastery where a monk named Nicolo is buried. Legend has it that anytime an attempt was made to move the body a large storm would appear, preventing any ships from making it to or from the island.

Due to time constraints there will be no cooking class today.

Please Note

The day trip to Tremiti Islands is only availble between the dates of May 15th to September 30th due to weather restrictions. Outside of these dates the Tremiti day trip will be substituted with a local vineyard visit for wine tasting, followed by a cooking class in the evening.

In the early morning , we will take a short drive to a small family-run olive mill Parco dei Buoi in the village of Larino. Here the owner, Francesco Travaglini, will give us a private tour of their olive groves, followed by a tasting of his olive oil. As we are tasting, we will have wonderful finger foods to go with it. When tasting the oil you will be in good company, Francesco Travaglini’s oil was used for the last Gala President Obama had for his guests!! A real show of quality for Molise.

We will then drive back for our cooking class and lunch.

After lunch and a short break we drive to Sepino, Altilia.

Sepino was captured by the Romans in 293 BC. , the city wall was erected by Tiberius before he became emperor. Within the city walls are the remains of a theatre and other buildings including temples of Jupiter and Apollo. The presence of tombs from the 4th century, suggests that the city had been abandoned by that time.

Supper will be in Sepino, Altilia surrounded by all this history.

In the morning we will leave for Centro del Tartufo Molise where we will see how Truffles are prepared and converted, also for those intrested there is the possibility for Truffle Hunting. While in the area of Castropignano we will also visit the Castel of D’Evoli.

Lunch will be at a restaurant where wonderful truffle dishes are prepared

That evening will be our final Cooking Class. After class we’ll celebrate your final night with Pizza, music, laughter and the presentation of the recipe book.

The final day we will provide a transfer back to the airport.