Pearls of Rome & Le Marche Tour: Discovering Indigenous Treasures

The streets of Rome modestly boast of stunning palaces and breathtaking fountains. Cafes set out tables and chairs along the open piazzas that make diners feel as though they have become a part of a painting. After breakfast, you will have the chance to capture the picturesque beauty of Rome with a private painting excursion in the Pizza Navona. The square originally held a Roman stadium erected in the 1st century AD, which was torn down to build a public space in the 15th century. Baroque palaces border the square, each constructed at the request of Pope Innocent X, whose family palace of Pamphili faced the piazza.

Your painting instructor will meet you in the square and seat you in an area focused on the light that sweeps across the structures and fountains. The most notable work is the Fountain of the Four Rivers, which creates an elaborate allegory of what was once thought to be the four main rivers in the world. The Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Rio de la Plata each have a river god positioned around a soaring obelisk. Famous sculpture Bernini designed the piece in the 1650s.

Your instructor will guide you through the process of painting, from taking notice of the light to enjoying the fresh air. The aroma of fresh espresso emanates from the restaurants along the square as the light glares off of the wet cobblestones, washed earlier that morning. The white hues across the façade of Sant’Agnese Church shimmer like marble as you attempt to capture the beauty of Rome in a single painting. When your instruction has finished, you will have a unique souvenir of the city that will always remind you of your quiet Italian morning of artistry.

The neighborhoods of Rome display the diverse character of the city, which stands as a parable to the city’s international connections for more than two millennia. At breakfast, Romans enjoy an espresso while standing at the bar of the café. They will eat a fresh brioche straight from the bakery display case and make their way to work as the city bustles with life weaving in and out of the historical setting. Your guide will meet you at Parco Delle Nazioni ready to give you a deeper connection to the city as you explore the neighborhoods in which real Romans live and spend their time. You will begin in the district of Testaccio, an area known to food aficionados as the birthplace of the city’s cucina povera, meaning poor cuisine, a style of cooking that focuses on using only supplies easily found at hand.

The neighborhood was erected on a mound of 200 feet, which shaped around the terracotta roof tiles and amphorae thrown into a pile on the orders of Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD. What was once a working class area has become known for its wine stores, boutique shops, and restaurants that serve the finest of traditional Roman cuisine. In the morning, your guide will lead you through the local Mercato Nuovo, and you will pass vendors with a wide variety of seasonal produce, from oranges to tomatoes. Other vendors offer prosciutto, homemade mozzarella cheese, and butchers offer fresh cuts of meat.

For lunch, instead of wandering to a restaurant for a quick bite, your guide will connect you with an eatery in the neighborhood cherished for its connection to the roots of Roman cuisine. You will meet a local chef with a family owned restaurant who will have bought all the needed ingredients from the New Market earlier in the day. The chef will teach you the proper way to make Roman pasta as you create a mound of flour, putting a hole at the center, and cracking eggs into the hole. He will then mix the egg and flour together to make the dough. By the end of the lesson, you and your chef have will have created a spectacular Roman dish of carbonara, a delicious pasta dish with egg, garlic, and cured pork cheek.

Rome has an abundance of beauty and a fair amount of secrets. Cats linger around the Torre Argentina, a set of Roman ruins now known as the Cat Sanctuary, but also the lesser observed steps upon which the senators of the Republic stabbed Caesar. A hidden park inside the district of Piazza Vittorio contains the remains of an antique villa, home to a secret Alchemist’s door said to be a portal between the real and secretive world of historical alchemists. It is the last remaining door of the Marquis Palombara’s villa.

After breakfast, the day is yours to explore and experience the often-overlooked wonders of Rome, by wandering along the early 20th-century architectural fantasy at the northern end of the city or by visiting the Capuchin crypts beneath Santa Maria della Concezione. The Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura is second in size only to St. Peter’s Basilica. The foundation of the church was laid over the site St. Paul was martyred in the 1st century AD. The structure has remained an attractive meeting point for pilgrims for nearly 2,000 years, and the Byzantine style church features 80 monolithic pillars made of granite and contains mosaics and paintings dating back to the 5th century AD.

A stunning mosaic in the Apse of the structure was crafted in the 13th century. The yellow hues turn to gold as natural light pours through the windows along the upper tiers. The scent of myrrh accentuates the beauty, history, and religious dedication around the remarkable Basilica. In the afternoon, you will meet a guide ready to embark on a delicious discovery of Rome, involving the celebrated Italian treat, gelato. Relish the sweet flavors of a variety of gelaterias to taste the differences before you try your hand at crafting a flavor special to you under the guidance of a seasoned gelato-maker.

While in Rome, you have connected to the local traditions and uncovered the splendor of the city’s history that dates back to its ancient foundations. The culture of Rome continues to thrive along the banks of the Tiber and beyond, with connections to tradition in art, cuisine, architecture, and mythology. At breakfast, you will do as the Romans do and sip a rich espresso as you enjoying the buttery, flaky texture of a fresh brioche. Your private transfer will meet you in the hotel lobby after your meal and escort you to the region of Le Marche, an area passed over by travelers, which offers you another chance to enjoy the unimpeded culture and traditions of Italy.

The town of Ascoli Piceno traces its roots back to the Sabine tribe in the 9th century BC. Locals feel a special connection to Rome, often considering themselves long-lost cousins of the ancient empire, eager to carry on traditions of their history and cuisine. The topography of the town is flat and even, unlike the undulating hills of Rome. The aroma of olive groves lingers in the cobblestone streets, and the main square of Piazza del Popolo has remained the beating heart of Ascoli since Roman times.

A 13th-century palace borders the rectangular piazza to the west as a statue of Pope Paul III continues to decorate the entrance of the palace in recognition of the pontiff’s ability to bring peace to the streets. The 17th-century Palazzo Comunale wraps around a courtyard shaded by trees while museum galleries inhabit the lavish interior, exhibiting more than 400 works of art and religious artifacts, including a 13th century embroidered papal cape once worn by Pope Nicholas IV, who was born in Ascoli.

The tradition of truffles and wine in the Le Marche region are, as many locals would claim, as old as the trees. The region remains a secret amongst visitors in the know, whether searching the landscape for unique ingredients or simply taking in the unadulterated culture. The soft gold sand of the Pesaro beaches fades beneath the turquoise water of the Adriatic Sea. Undulating hills roll across the horizon behind the city as cafes create a rim around Piazza del Popolo with white tablecloths that dance in the coastal breeze. After an early breakfast, you will venture inland to discover the reasons why Le Marche is one of Italy’s important truffle regions.

You will meet a local truffle hunter and his friendly dog outside a farmhouse on an open hillside. The verdant grass offers a herbaceous aroma as you set out into the trees, following the eager nose of your hunting dog. Truffles grow underground in relationship to the wet soil near the trees. The dog will scour the countryside for the mushroom-type scent, leading you through the woods, underneath dangling tree branches, and over protruding roots, eventually digging a hole around where the scent emanates.

You will then take your long stick and poke and pierce the truffle, pulling it out of the soil. Back at the farmhouse, you will continue your discovery of the region with a sampling of wines produced on the very land you had scoured. Vineyards overtake the hillside behind the farmhouse as you enter the tasting room and sample your first wine, a straw hue that offers hints of green apple and bitter almond on the nose. After indulging in a delicious lunch, you will continue to the town of Urbino to wander amongst the Renaissance palaces and elegant streets of the preserved fairytale ambiance.

The small hills of the Le Marche lead to the national park of Monti Sibillini in the southwest corner of the region. The protected area encompasses more than 23 miles of mountain peaks often covered in shimmering snow, reaching westward towards Umbria. Mount Vettore, the highest peak in the region, reaches an altitude of more than 8,120 feet. After breakfast, your private guide will lead you across the region to witness the elegant and dramatic features of the landscape, from the upland plain of Piano Grande located to the west of Mount Vettore, to the high peaks of northern Marche at the town of Cagli. The road leading into the town has led parties to and from Rome since the Republic.

The town retains its grid patterned plan with all of the roads leading to the central square and trickling fountain. A medieval town hall crowns the square, casting a slight shadow over the old men that read newspapers and gossip over recent local events. The meadow outside of town blossoms with stunning purple and yellow wildflowers as daffodils provide a sweet aroma that lifts from the colorful landscape beneath the peak of Monte Petrano, which stands a height of 3,635 feet above sea level.

The spa town of Sarnano bustles with local Italians eager to enjoy the beneficial waters of the naturally heated mountain springs. The town rises along the hillside situated between the southern Le Marche towns of Ascoli Piceno and Macerata. Medieval towers create the skyline of the old town and shade the narrow labyrinth of cobblestone streets. Beech trees and limestone crags lead to a small ski resort populated by locals in the winter. The splendors of the Le Marche region connect the seaside to the mountainside, woods to limestone caves, and unperturbed historical towns to culinary gems.  After a week of exploring them all, your private transfer will escort you to Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini for your flight home.