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"Il Cucciolo" Holiday Farm: Experiencing nature, art and food in the heart of Italy

Late September – Mid November 2008: Cooking class package Flexible start dates, two lengths of stay available.

Are you looking for a special place where you can combine nature, art, and delicious food and have a unique vacation? How about Italy and the unspoiled Upper Tiber Valley or Valtiberina region, between Tuscany and Umbria? In the mountains, woods, historic towns and farms of the region, experience authentic Italy and its wealth of art, history and culture.

Join Breon O'Farrell and Marta Cerù, your hosts, at the unique Holiday Farm (Agriturismo) "Il Cucciolo", you can enjoy all what this very special region in the heart of Italy has to offer. It is a 25 hectares organic farm with four stone houses on top of an Umbrian hill. Our setting in the hills, surrounded by farmland and forest, provides the classic panorama of this peaceful Italian countryside.

The Cooking class: This is the perfect package for who would like to learn the secrets of authentic Italian cuisine in an informal and genuine way, while enjoying nature and art in the heart of Italy. The class will be led by Marta and assisted by Guilia, Time will be split between menu planning, finding ingredients, cooking and time enjoying the surrounding countryside. Offered in late September through mid November, we will enjoy walking through the woods around us to find porcini mushrooms and truffles.

Cost:

• 7 Night Package: - 5 days cooking class and 1 free day (7 nights); Euro 710 ( $1,121, 6/08) double occupancy per person; Euro 920 ($1453, 6/08) single occupancy per person.
• 5 Night package: 3 days cooking class and 1 free days (5 nights); Euro 450 ($710, 6/08)double occupancy per person; Euro 600 ($947, 6/08) single occupancy per person.

Includes: One double occupancy bedroom in one/two/three bedroom apartment, breakfast, and cooking class with 1 meal on the days of the class. Complementary dinner will be offered on the day of arrival. As your hosts we will direct you towards local car rental, bike rental, horseback riding, restaurants, activities, and tours.

The price does not include: extra meals, transportation, tours to the nearby cities. Dog training and, or dog sitting is available at extra charge. Activities for kids can be planned with advance notice. Food for a quick evening meal can be provided upon request at extra charge.

Sample program for the week:

This is a typical program for the week, but we can tailor it around people’s needs (i.e., presence of children) and interests; it can be more or less structured.

Sunday

Arrival (typical arrival time is between 2 and 5pm). The guests will be taken to their apartments. They will have time to rest and relax, or to explore the property. In the evening we will have dinner in our common space, the Limonaia, with an introduction to the cooking class that we will have during the week. We will have a chance to get to know each other, and we will enjoy a typical seasonal menu from Marta, accompanied by local wine.

Monday-Friday (AM):

You are welcome to have breakfast in the Limonaia from 7:30 until 9am. We will start working on our menu around 9:30am, with the goal of having lunch ready around 1pm. Every day the cooking lesson will include the preparation and collection of the needed ingredients. We might experience shopping at the local farmer market in Citta’ di Castello, or collect the needed produce from Marta’s garden. Or we might go for a mushroom and/or truffle hunt in the woods. This will all depend upon the daily menu, the weather, and availability of seasonal produce in the garden, the woods and the market. Our guests will enjoy a two-three hour hands-on cooking lesson in the Limonaia. Each day we will focus on some of the items on the menu, we will create delicious meals, and we will thoroughly enjoy our hard work at lunch.

Monday-Friday (PM):

You have the afternoon and evenings free to explore the surrounding countryside and communities. You might choose to relax by our pool or by the lake, go for a walk or a bike ride, or go horseback riding in the close by facility of San Pietro al Monte. You might choose to visit one of the nearby towns*, where, besides the beauty and the art, you can experience more of the local cuisine in a typical Umbrian or Tuscan restaurant.

Saturday:

Breakfast served in the Limonaia. Free day. This is the best chance for a whole day tour to one of the nearby towns* of your choice

Sunday:

Breakfast served in the Limonaia. Morning departure.

* Guided tours can be arranged upon request.

Typical menus for our lunch might be:

• Crostini (taleggio and honey, goat cheese, etc), risotto with mushroom, scaloppine al limone, green salad, crostata Homemade fresh pasta, with boar red sauce or mushroom and truffle sauce, quiches, green salad, gelato
• Gnocchi with meat sauce, or cheese sauce, caprese, crema con frutti di bosco;
• Antipasti misti, panzanella, tagliata, insalata, tiramisu
• Other possible dishes: Crespelle ai funghi porcini (crepes with mushroom and cheese sauce); Lasagna alla bolognese or in white mushroom sauce, polenta with sausages or with beef stew and mushrooms, bucatini (type of pasta) all'Amatriciana (pork red sauce), eggplant parmigiana, Tuscan spelt soup, Tuscan legumes soup, potato soup, Roman pasta and beans soup, veal mini steak rolls stuffed with prosciutto and sage, caponata, marinated grilled vegetables, stuffed mushrooms.

More About "Il Cucciolo" Holiday Farm:

Our setting in the hills, surrounded by farmland and forest, provides the classic panorama of this peaceful Italian countryside. It is a 25 hectares organic farm with four stone houses on top of an Umbrian hill. We rent apartments of different sizes with incredible views of two Medieval Castles. We have 300 meters of fenced in garden, its three terraces connected by stone staircases and resting areas. Enjoy our swimming pool (36' x 18') with a good book, heavy eyelids or a desire to tan. Relax at our lake where you can sunbathe, or fish. Our woods are a paradise for mushroom and truffle hunters. There are gravel roads and trails where you can enjoy hiking and adventuring on foot or on our complementary bicycles.

Within walking distance from the Tuscany border, you get the best of both regions. Cities like Florence or Perugia can easily be visited. We are only an hour and one half drive from Florence, not to mention much shorter drives to Perugia (40 min), Arezzo (40 min), Cortona (45 minutes), Assisi (one hr), Deruta (30 min), Todi (one hr), Spoleto (just over an hr), and a dozen remarkable places of historical interest in the Upper Tiber River Valley: Gubbio, San Sepolcro, Umbertide, Citta di Castello, Montone. Or plan a day trip to Rome, a three hour drive away.

If you are traveling with kids, we can organize activities and games to fill their day with fun while learning about nature. If you are traveling with dogs, we offer services of dog training and dog sitting. You can be a group of friends, a couple looking for a romantic getaway, a family looking for a kid friendly vacation in Italy, or a large family looking for a special destination for your family reunion. For groups of people sharing the same interests, we organize weekly thematic visits: painting classes, yoga retreats, Italian language classes, cooking classes.

About the owners: Marta and Breon, with the company of their children, Lucia (5) and Simone (8)

Marta Cerù is a native Italian from the Rome area but she has spent all her summers since childhood in the Upper Tiber Valley (San Sepolcro). She has a degree in Physics and a Masters in Science Journalism. She is the author of a book for children about the history of life on our planet entitled "I Dinosauri Dopo Cena" (The Dinosaurs After Dinner) and has published a hundred articles about science for laypeople. She is a great cook, she always enjoyed cooking for friends and guests, and what she knows about cooking comes from cooking with her family. It’s a joy for Marta to share her cooking skills and secrets with her guests.

Breon O'Farrell is the founder of Philosophy Dog Training in NYC. He is the author of the world's most beautiful dog training book "Philosophy Dog. The art of living with man's best friend", which features photos from many of the biggest names in the world of fashion photography. When he is not busy with his dogs (or yours), he takes loving care of the land.

About Giulia Panegrossi

Giulia Panegrossi was born and raised in Rome, Italy. She has a degree in Physics (she met Marta during the college years in Rome) and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences (pursued in Madison, Wisconsin). She spent 11 years in the USA with her family, and she just returned to Italy to live at "Il Cucciolo" and experience the life of her dreams in the countryside. She always loved cooking and she enjoys doing it for her friends and family. She learned to cook from her mom and grandmother, she mostly cooks by heart, and she believes that Italian cooking simplicity is the key for its success.