7 nights from
£0
A taste of la dolce vita is on the menu throughout this wonderful week of cookery, culture, composers, and craftsmanship, as we tour Emilia-Romagna and cross the regional border into Lombardy. First-base on the tour is the foodie city of Parma, from where we travel to nearby Langhirano to visit a family farm, famed for its parmigiana reggiano, and a family firm producing prosciutto. In Cremona, the birthplace of Stradivari and Monteverdi, we visit the Violin Museum and walk in the footsteps of Ponchielli, born a stone’s throw away in Paderno Fasolaro (now re-named ‘Paderno Ponchielli’). The cluster of composers continues just fifteen miles south in Busseto, where we enjoy a private soloist performance, and where the town’s most famous son is celebrated in the National Museum of Giuseppe Verdi. The setting for Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’, Mantua was a musical hub of Italy, its Old Town now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Modena was Pavarotti’s hometown, his characterful house now serving as a museum of his life; but the city has a second string to its bow, as the maker of traditional balsamic vinegar; and Bologna brilliantly closes the tour with its street food, typical trattorias, and a chance to cook the local ‘piadina’ flatbread.
Some visits are on foot with some uneven surfaces and inclines.
per person in a twin/double room
British Airways from Heathrow
There are currently no departure dates available for this tour.
Air travel and taxes, transfers, 7 nights' accommodation, breakfast daily, 1 lunch, itinerary as described, services of local guides and representatives. If our specially negotiated airfares are unavailable at the time of booking, a supplement may apply.
Travel insurance, optional excursions, tipping, any government taxes or compulsory charges introduced after publication.
An accommodation tax is payable locally, currently between €1.50 and €3 per person per night.
In certain countries we recommend the currency most widely accepted rather than the local currency.
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