US Travel agents rate Romagna number1 for natural hospitality and unique experiences

FAM trip: Old fashioned hospitality, great food and wine, great sights, lovely country house accommodation – and they even learned to cook Italian!

This fall, two groups of travel agents from all over the US and Europe explored undiscovered unspoiled Romagna – and they discovered a wonderful and unusual opportunity for themselves and their clients.

The guests visited three superb local vineyards, a top cookery school, one of Italy’s greatest historical treasures, a Leonardo da Vinci Venetian-style port, a painted hilltop art-city, one of the oldest and smallest republics in the world, a 200-year-old artisan producer of homeware and an up-to-the-minute artisan fashion outlet.

The agents ate an enormous local lunch and tasted glorious local organic wines at Zuffa  Vineyard  in scenic Villa Venti   they tasted local cheeses, meats and sipped their glorious boutique-vineyard wines; at the historic Fattoria Paradiso  vineyard they tasted even more wonderful wines, balsamic vinegar and olive oils. And at the 500-year old Turchi olive grove they watched olives being pressed, enjoyed the wonderful aroma and tasted some of the best oil in the territory.

In one of the world’s great treasuries of ancient history – Ravenna, they saw extraordinary mosaics in basilicas dating from 1500 years ago and trod the paths of the ancients. In Santarcangelo di Romagna they saw the fabulous scrap-sculptures created by the Mutoid Waste Company, and the lucky few joined in the amazing 1,000-year old plus Festival of Cuckolds – packed with 50,000+ happy festival goers.

In the hilltop village of Longiano, they paid a visit to the towering castle with its great modern art collection, saw the Italian Museum of Cast Iron and stood on the stage of its jewel-box, perfect acoustic theatre before visiting the fascinating museum of masks.

In this great region – a cathedral to good, local, traditional food and wine – they ate sumptuous meals at superb restaurants – at Dei Cantoni  in Longiano, at La Casina   near Ravenna, at hilltop La Rocca in Verucchio and in Romagna’s latest temple to good taste – Leonardo Spadoni’s Casa Spadoni  in Faenza.

And, of course they tasted Romagna’s latest DOP food – a Piadina stuffed with local cheese and ham.

At one of Italy’s top cookery schools – Casa Artusi  – they created their own delicious pastas from scratch under the tutelage of Chef Carla – then ate it together with a great platter of local specialities.

They stayed the superb owner-run country house hotels Villa Roncuzzi,  Alloggio San Girolamo   and Locanda della Luna   and at the historic Grand Hotel Fratta Terme

Their verdict: "We really, really loved it." – Said one agent: "Everywhere smiles, graciousness, fun and really unique experiences." "You want to be a part of it and it’s so easy because everyone welcomes you"

To find out more about FAM trips to Romagna click HERE

Valere Tjolle

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