INTERNATIONAL PAINTING WORKSHOP, 2009
Artist Palette TOURS present...
Landscapes and Cuisine of Umbria
...a painting and culinary adventure tour
September 7 to 21, 2009
Learn how to paint the charm and beauty of the hilltop towns of Umbria or taste and experience the cuisine of Umbria ... then head out on half-day and full day tours of these extraordinary hilltop towns and villages.
Join award winning painter and workshop painting instructor, Carol Maddox and teaching chef Vera Foresman on an all inclusive trip to Italy.
Chef Vera presents an exclusive culinary itinerary geared around the "slow food" movement. Enjoy olive oil tastings at the villa home of a Contessa, make cheese and learn the age old Italian tradition of making prosciutto, taste wine at a historic winery, learn to make classic Italian pasta sauces and much more.
Bring your easel and join artist and workshop instructor Carol Maddox as she teaches you everything you need to know to capture the beauty of this region. CLICK HERE to read more about Carol Maddox and see a gallery of her work.
Can't decide if you want to paint or explore the cuisine of Umbria... no problem... you can opt to paint one day and participate in the culinary adventures on another. Then its off on our motorcoach for a visit to one of the many delightful towns and villages that are part of the scenic region of Umbria. Evenings will be spent socializing with local wines as we dine and share the excitement of our day. Following dinner we will meet for the evening's program.
We will stay in a quaint and historic 16th century monastery, dine on local Italian cuisine prepared by local cooks and chefs, and enjoy wines from the local countryside. Gourmet travelers and lovers of Italian food, wine and cooking will find themselves in paradise in Umbria. The delights of Umbrian cuisine and wine cellars await the visitor in picturesque hill towns not yet discovered by mainstream tourism.
Our group is small, just 11 to 18 people, so you will have lots of individual attention. Each day we’ll be touring and exploring its hill towns, from Perugia, its beautiful regional capital and the largest of its cities, to towns small enough that they are not included on most maps!
Each day that offers a half day of touring will be preceded or followed by a half day Artists Palette cooking or painting class or other authentically Italian celebratory tasting or painting experience.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Visits to Rome, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Todi, and an ancient Roman town built along the Tiber River
Special tours just for our group:
Chocolate factory in Perugia to see how the world famous Perugina chocolate is produced
Tour of a pottery studio in Deruta, home of "world reknown" handmade pottery
Rome visit to the Vatican City Museum where we will see paintings by great Italian masters such as Carravagio, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci,
Bott
icelli a
nd Michaelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel. We will also visit St. Peters Basilica to see Michelangelo's PietaOlive oil tasting
Guided tour of Assisi
See the itinerary below for full trip details.
Day 1: Mon., 9/7 - We depart for Rome on our 15 day painting and culinary adventure.
Day 2: Tues., 9/8 - We arrive in Rome and are transferred to our monastery home outside of Terni, Italy. Tonight we enjoy a welcome wine reception where we will meet our artist friends and Carol and Vera, our Tour Directors.
Day 3: Wed., 9/9 - San Gemini
Following an Italian breakfast we venture out for a visit to a beautiful villa, the former summer home of sculptor Antonio Canova, now an impressive vineyard. The wine crush will still be in progress so we’ll experience first hand the harvest and crush, taste the juice that will be aged into wine as well as taste some of the villa’s fine wines. Savor the wines or paint the vineyards... the choice is yours.
Following lunch we head out to San Gemini. San Gemini, famed Medieval town, was built over the ruins of an ancient Roman settlement alongside the Via Flamania. Much to see here. Italian dinner and Perugia orientation tonight.
Day 4: Thurs., 9/10 - Perugia/Deruta
Following breakfast we head to the largest city in Umbria. The city center has a medieval appearance, but is based on an Etruscan layout. We have arranged for a tour of the famed Perugina chocolate factory to see how this "world famous" candy is produced. Following our Perugina chocolate factory tour we will visit the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, the most important art museum in Umbria featuring works of art dating from the 13th to 19th centuries.
Lunch on your own... Free time will be allotted for shopping and additional sightseeing.
Umbria
is world famous for its ceramic production and Deruta is world reknown
for producing the highest quality! Following our half day in Perugia we will head to Deruta where we will be treated to a custom tour
of one of the ceramic studios to see how this hand painted pottery is
made. You will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of
pottery studios that line the streets. Don't miss a visit to the old
town Museo Regionale della Ceramica where you will see samples of
pottery dating to 16th century. If time allows we will visit Torgiano to see a wonderful museum of food production and implements from ancient times.
We head home for dinner.
Day 5: Fri., 9/11 - Monterivoso
Get ready for a treat as we head to the small, charming, hamlet of Monteriviso as priviliged guests of Elenora Venanzoni, restauranteur and upholder of ancient, food production traditions. Elenora will demonstrate the art of product canning with local produce, making of the famous procuitto ham and a variety of local, special pasta sauces.
Cheese making: We will have a "hands on" class on the making of cheese from fresh milk products... followed by generous tastings with wine.
This afternoon we will be treated to a truffle hunt in the countryside.
Painters will be delighted with the incredible landscapes around every corner.
Day 6: Sat., 9/12 - Todi
Following breakfast we head to Todi to savor the Saturday morning market. Stalls of local produce, meats, and cookware fill the large parking area at the foot of this Etruscan and Medieval hilltop town.
Take the Funicular up to the main town square with its perfectly intact medieval architecture. Browse the many shops, visit the Duomo, Palazzo del Capitano with its Museo Pinacotea (where you can see the town's archeological and painting collections), and many more interesting sites. Stop for a delicious cafe latte at one of the pastry shops on the main piazza.
We head back for a delicious lunch and paint this afternoon or choose an afternoon class on pasta and sauce making in the Umbrian style. Relax before dinner and then enjoy our evening program.
Day 7: Sun., 9/13 - Terni
We head out following breakfast to visit historic nearby Terni, the only Umbrian provincial capital apart from Perugia. Although a large city, it can be visited in a relatively short time and on foot. Don't miss a visit to the large market, city Duomo, flea market, and Roman amphitheatre.
We will visit the
villa of the local Contessa where we will be treated to a tasting
of her prized extra virgin olive oils for which Umbria is famous (she
markets her olive oils through Williams Sonoma in the states). Our
tour will include a full tasting and orientation about olive pressing
traditions and related products.
Following lunch at our monestary home we head to Valnerina. We'll visit the famous waterfall, the one of the highest in
Europe. Paint the landscape or hike the many paths.
We head back for a scrumptious multi-course Italian dinner followed by our evening program.
Day 8: Mon., 9/14 - Spoleto
After breakfast we head out for a full day tour of this amazing, cultural city. World reknown as an arts center, there is much to see and do here. Visit the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna, an art gallery housed in the Palazzo Spada, which showcases works by comtemporary Italian artists.
Don't miss the much restored Roman theater built in the 1st century AD, the Duomo with its frescos by famous Italian painters including Filippo Lippi, and the many interesting shops, theaters, and restaurants that line the medieval streets. Lunch on your own. We head back to the monastary for dinner this evening.
Day 9: Tues., 9/15 - Norcia
Umbria is famous for its pork products and Norcia is the capital of Umbria in this respect. Pork butchers in Italy are often called Norcini after the town’s inhabitants. Shops with amazing variety of pork products/sausages/salami etc. and here also is the capital for the production and sale of the fabulous black truffle.
Our food exploration will include a visit to Vallo di Nera for a look at (and tasting) of fine aged cheese production here. We head back to enjoy a delicious Italian multi-course meal followed by our evening program.
Day 10: Wed. 9/16 - Rome
Highlight of this outstanding tour, we head to Rome following breakfast. Our full day excursion will include a visit to Vatican City where we will tour the Vatican City Museum, home of the Sistine Chapel, and housing one of the greatest collections of Italian art by such famous artists as Caravaggio, Raphael, and Michelangelo. We then head to nearby St. Peters Cathedral to see Michaelangelo's Pieta.
Following lunch on your own at one of the many trattorias that line the nearby streets, we head to the famous Piazza Navarona. Time will be allotted for shopping, then it's back home for a delicious dinner.
Day 11: Thurs. 9/17 - Otricoli & Ocriculum
Following breakfast we head out to visit the small, but charming, village of Otricoli. You will enjoy exploring the small, winding streets that meander through this old town. Don't miss the panoramic views of the valley below and enjoy a cafe latte at one of the charming shops.
Next we head to Ocriculum, an ancient Roman city built on the Tiber River that has been painstakingly excavated by the Vatican. We will work up an appetite for a picnic lunch by walking the old Roman road that takes us past the ancient sites.
Depending on availability we may will enjoy a “pick your own” Italian fig experience to underline the experience of Slow Food in Italy. Our painters will enjoy painting these colorful fruits of Umbria.
Relax before dinner and then enjoy our evening program.
Day 12: Fri., 9/18 - Assisi
Following breakfast we will enjoy a full day at this amazing religious and historic medieval hilltop town. We are delighted to offer a special, guided walking tour to acquaint us with the history and sights of this city famous as the home of St. Francis, who is buried in the Duomo there. A highlight of the visit will be a viewing of the tomb of St. Francis and the famous Giotto frescos that have been restored in the Duomo.
Lunch on your own. Time will be allotted to explore the shops, historic sites and outstanding restaurants. We return late in the afternoon and enjoy dinner.
Day 13: Sat., 9/19 - Montefalco
Paint the landscapes around the monastary this morning. Following lunch we head out to Montefalco. This charming, hilltop Medieval town is known as the balcony of Umbria for its outstanding views over central Umbria. It is also famous for its Sangrantino wine. Don't miss a visit to the church of San Francesco and the attached monastery that houses the Museo Comunale to view the frescos by Benozzo Gozzoli, a pupil of Fra Angelico and painter of frescos in the Palazzo Medici in Florence.
Our food exploration/class will include a a tasting of the famous Sangrantino wines. We head back late in the afternoon. Dinner tonight will be a special surprise.
Day 14: Sun., 9/20 - Orvieto
Following breakfast we head out for another full day adventure to the famed, Medieval, hilltop town of Orvieto. Home of the famous white Italian wine, but also home to famed, hand painted ceramics. The Duomo is a must-see site with its amazing architecture that no description can embrace and home to frescos by Luca Signorelli.
Join us on a visit to two artisan labs: a chocolate producer as well as a gelato maker. Tastings will be included of course, for a sweet finish to our tour of Umbria. Lunch on your own. Farewell dinner tonight.
Day 15: Mon., 9/21 - Home
We head home today filled with joyous memories of our time in Umbria.
Click here for trip pricing and important trip details.
Register for the 2009 Workshop..Click here