FASCINATING VALNERINA AMONG NATURE AND ROSE STONES PETRA COLLECTION ITINERARY

“A TOUR PLAN, JUST LIKE FASHION, IS THE RESULT OF DESIGN AND CREATIVITY. LIFE, LOVE, TRAVEL… TASTE AND SLOW .

1st DAY - ducts. Moreover this town is the birthplace of St Benedict in 480 AD, the patron saint of Europe. It doesn’t take long to see the town, Arrival at Fiumicino Airport and meeting with your but you may want to stay on for the pleasant atmosphere and the private driver and transfer towards Norcia. surrounding scenery. As the jumping-off point to the Valnerina and Monti Sibillini, Nor- cia delivers impressive architectures and museums. But Norcia is Check in a luxury 4 stars Hotel Lunch in a typical restaurant “Km Zero”, an innovative Ita- also known all over the world for its quality and heritage food, as lian concept to value the food short supply chain: Km Zero a capital of pork butchery. Lentils, cheese, ham, prosciutto, choco- food indeed. late, farro (a particular kind of spelt), mushrooms and, of course, Guided walking tour in Norcia and its monuments black truffles. The word Norcineria is used among culinary experts Dinner in the hotel and overnight stay to denote the method used by butchers specializing in pork pro-

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1 Light lunch in a local farm and cheese tasting Guided mini Trekking path around Norcia country The path runs along the most impressive place of the town, rich 2nd DAY- CASTELUCCIO DI in history, culture, traditions and the surrounding countryside, NORCIA touching an archaeological site, which tells the old history of lo- cal people living under Sibillini mountains since the pre-Roman Breakfast and departure with your tour escort and private period. driver to explore the magnificent and fascinating Castelluccio Dinner in a typical restaurant “Km Zero”, Di Norcia. Walking tour in Castelluccio. Overnight stay The eerie, wide Piano Grande, 20 km east of Norcia, is an extraor- dinary prairie surrounded by high mountains. A decade or so ago, it was all but unknown: now, in summer at least, it can be crowd- ed. It’s considered one of the most beautiful landscape existent in 3rd DAY - PANTANI DI the world and subject for professional photographers – especially in spring when it’s ablaze with wild flowers of every description. ACCUMOLI AND MONKS It was used by Zeffirelli as location in his Franciscan film Brother Sun, Sister Moon. The desperately isolated village of Castelluccio BREWERY hangs above it at around 1400m, and although no longer the sole Early morning meeting with private driver. Walking tour preserve of shepherds, it remains an unspoilt base and the ideal and visit of Pantani di Accumoli starting point for any number of straightforward mountain walks. The Pantani di Accumoli are glacial lakes located on the bor- On winter doing alpine or Nordic skiing is a great experience in der between the Sibillini Mountains and Laga Mountains, laying Valnerina. in a small valley surrounded by meadows and scenic landscapes

Taste and Slow Italy a brand of Trasimeno Travel s.a.s. | Via novella 1/F 06061, Castiglione del Lago, Perugia, Italy | P.I./C.F. 0263410 0545

2 breathtaking. During the period from late April to late October, the had been closed since 1810. The monks decided that a beer created Pantani di Accumoli represent a true paradise of nature. Here, ev- according to the Belgian monastic tradition would best comple- ery morning around 8.00 am, cows and horses living in the wild go ment Norcia’s environment and atmosphere. They developed two to graze and drink by creating a natural environment from movies. kinds of beer: a blond beer that is light, suitable as an aperitif with It ‘strongly recommended to arrive before this time to enjoy the appetizers and first courses; and another ‘extra’ beer with a deep, spectacle of the arrival of animals. The species of herbs and flowers rich flavor, excellent enjoyed on its own or with savory meats such that will accompany your route are the most numerous, including as wild boar and lamb, or cheeses the beautiful expanses of wild orchids. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay. Tasting/lunch in a “Norcineria” based on traditional pork products. Also the main food star is the black local truffle. It is not rare perceive this singulars smell walking in the streets in Norcia… Absolutely fancy. We will visit one of the best butcher workshop in Norcia. 4st DAY - ROSE STONES The owner maintains the heritage to make the famous Pro- sciutto di Norcia IGP (Protected Geographical Indication AND HERITAGE - the European Union to certify the origin). Visit of local Benedictine brewery and tasting. Breakfast, meeting with private driver and departure to The beer-making activities of the monastery’s Benedictine monks Preci. Visit of a particular church in San Salvatore di Campi, see them following an ancient monastic tradition. The Birra Nursia this enchanting place inspired Vodivì style concepts creat- brewery was conceived with the hope of sharing with others the ing the collection Petra. joy arising from the monks’ labors. The brewery’s motto is taken Guided visit of the enchanting village of Preci and Muse- from the Biblical Hymns: ‘ut laetificet cor’ (that the heart might be um of the singular story of local Popular Surgery. gladdened). The brewery lies within the walls of the monastery that The Museum hosts an exhibition that begins with portraits of date back a millennium and its entrance is crowned with a fresco of prominent doctors, famous patients and some prints of anatomy the Virgin Mary upon grains of barley. The monks make only 700 illustrations with explanatory captions with comments to the most bottles in each batch in order to ensure a high quality. The master common surgical techniques. To supplement the exhibition, there brewer is Brother Francis Davoren is from Dallas, Texas, and he are caskets containing tools and surgical instruments used in an- is assisted by Brother Massimiliano Silvati from La Spezia, Italy. cient times. But this local heritage has a singular story to be told. Most of the monastery’s monks are from USA. They moved to Nor- The local Popular surgery perceived by intuition the necessity to cia in 2000, so breathing new life into the ancient monastery that cauterize wounds although they did not know bacteria existence in

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3 the Medieval age. Since centuries in nearby Abbazia Sant’Eutizio et Labora). Care community pastoral activities of their parish, the the Benedictine monks were practicing healing and surgery. But hospitality and the guide to knowledge of the monastery and the after the Lateran Council held in 1215, church banned any kind of museum. surgery practiced by monks. As a result, the monks passed over Today’s complex of is situated on a terrace below the caves in their medicine knowledge to the locals. The skills of these empiri- which monks lived Syriac in the first decades of the fifth century. cal surgeons (descended from a rural mountain people, experts in The interior is simple and straightforward, with few traces of four- the butchering and castration of pigs and sheep) grew during the teenth-century frescoes that decorated the walls. The presbytery following years and they became among the few people capable of is placed at the end of a large stone staircase, and is dominated operating gallstones, inguinal hernia and cataracts, reaching the by a crucifix of Nicola Di Ulisse from Siena (XV sec.). Behind him largest fame in the 16th century. The fame of the surgeons from the apse with walnut choir and the sixteenth-century temple (1514) Preci was such that some of them were chosen as court physicians by Rocco Di Tommaso from Vicenza where the mortal remains of by rich and mighty personalities and even by some rulers of Euro- Eutizio and Spes Saints, while the nave is decorated with a large pean states. Among their most famous patients: Elisabeth the 1st canvas of Cristoforo Roncalli, known as Pomarancio, depicting the Tudor, Louis XI of France, the sultan Amorat IV of Constantinople crucified Christ with the Saints Spes and Eutizio. and the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The art of surgery Many pilgrims from all the world visit the nowadays has been handed down through the generations. for a singular ritual. The altar on the apse collect the Saint’s Visit of Sant’Eutizio Abbey bones (St Eutizio and St. Spes). Just below the stone altar An incredible Medieval architecture for an incredible story there is a narrow cave where the pilgrims crawl praying. of the character of Sant’Eutizio and his mentor Santo Spes. The flat stone is practically smooth after centuries of pil- The Abbey was founded in 470 AD by St. Spes, who was the spiri- grims passage. Very suggestive! tual father of Sant’Eutizio, San Fiorenzo and source of inspiration Lunch in a typical restaurant “Km Zero” in Preci of the young St. Benedict from Norcia. Sant’Eutizio abbey gained Guided visit of . An enchanting small village down the significant fame for purely cultural reasons: within its walls was Sibillini Mountains. Very inspiring place, with its old palac- drawn up one of the oldest and complete texts in the vernacular es and walls built with local particular stones. known, the Confessio Eutiziana (XI sec.), And developed until Dinner at leisure in Norcia and overnight stay. the thirteenth century an important school of medicine and sur- gery that gave birth to the surgical school Preci, became famous throughout Europe. Today the Abbey is home to a community of Benedictine monks committed to pursuing harmony of “work and pray” (in Latin: Ora

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4 skating. Also photos, agriculture, cooking courses, art and 5st DAY - SACRED CONCEP- history. Dinner at your leisure. TUAL ART AND SCENT OF SAFFRON After breakfast, departure with the private driver to . Cascia is a particular small village, it is famous as birthplace 6st DAY - THE EXCLUSIVE of Santa Rita. A private local guide will introduce you the CUDDLE FOR YOU FROM enchanting Medieval story of Rita. However, Cascia offer also sacred and conceptual art and an innovative architec- VODIVì ture. All the places in Cascia are rich in art masterpieces. Cascia was founded during Roman ancient age. Cascia had its peri- Breakfast and departure with your private driver to Terme od of major splendor during the Middle Ages. Formerly under the di dominion of , it later passed under the rule of Frederick II A new facility built in a healthy local thermal source. A day Holy Roman Emperor. Speaking about Cascia’s history it is indis- completely dedicated to relax. pensable to remark its great characters, who rendered it famous all Lunch at leisure in the thermal restaurant over the world: St . Her life ended tragically; she died Late afternoon at leisure and shopping in Norcia in mysterious and glorious circumstances at the same time. Now- Departure to Postignano. adays St Rita, who is known to grant wishes to everyone ask for, is An overnight stay as gift for you. An authentic cuddle for venerated all over the world and many pilgrims travel to the Sanc- you from Vodivì. tuary of Saint Rita. Cascia architectural jewels are worth a visit: the An enchanting old castle-village sited on one of the most gothic church of St. Francis and the church of St. Anthony Abate. charming Valley hilltop. Lunch in a typical restaurant “Km Zero” in Cascia with a Dinner in a typical restaurant in Castello di Postignano and particular menu that include the local famous saffron spice overnight stay. an authentic “food must”. Afternoon dedicated to your hobbies and main interests with guide/coach or without. As trekking and nature, Nor- dic or Alpine skiing on winter, snowkite, paragliding, ice

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5 THE QUOTE INCLUDES – 7 days / 6 nights in a 4 stars Hotel; 2 days full board; 4 half board treatment as speci- fied below (beverages included) – Tour Escort during the whole tour 7st DAY- MARMORE – Local guide for 3 half days – Local guide for 2 full days WATERFALLS – Bus/van/car with private driver – 2 lunch local food tasting Breakfast and departure. – 2 dinner in Hotel/Restaurant Visit of the nice medieval village of . – 3 lunch in Hotel/Restaurant Late morning visit of Marmore waterfalls (depending on – City tax the months and related opening days of the week). Lunch at leisure THE QUOTE DOES NOT INCLUDE – Supplement for DUS room: € 40,00 per person per day End of the services and transfer to Rome Fiumicino Air- – Entrance in Terme di Triponzo port. – Extra hobby and sports activities and related services (as transfers, equipment renting, general organization and booking). These activities have to be booked before the final payment. – Everything not mentioned in “the price includes” – Medical, baggage insurance

PRICE FROM EUR 2148,00 (per pax, based 2 clients) All the tours are modular and flexible. Possibility to organize expe- riences and activities according to particular individual interests INFORMATION – One day journey of this package is a Vodivì exclusive gift for their Clients (i.e. photos, super-cars or motorcycle, hot-air balloon, sports, spa – The full board treatment for the first two days and the half board for the rest of the and relax, history, mysteries, experiences). Taste and Slow Italy tour has to be intended not necessarily in hotel. organize the journey in Italy according to your expectations, as an – On request we can book flight tickets – It is recommended to be equipped by suitable mountain clothes and shoes. These unforgettable experience. Professional guides and escorts charged equipment can be purchased also in professional stores in Valnerina. for all tours among villages, landscapes, views, tastes, art and events throughout Italy. Taste and Slow Italy has the ability to introduce to the guests the authentic Italian lifestyle experience. The packages can be customized on request in a very short time.

Taste and Slow Italy a brand of Trasimeno Travel s.a.s. | Via novella 1/F 06061, Castiglione del Lago, Perugia, Italy | P.I./C.F. 0263410 0545

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