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Italy

Winter In Italy: A Window Into the Slow Life of Cilento

Program No. 25136RJ
Experience the magic of Cilento, a hidden gem of southwest Italy, through sampling its local cuisine, centuries of history and breathtaking natural wonders.
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  • 25136-IT-Roscigno-Vecchia-abandoned-village-3c.jpg
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Small GroupHistoryNew
Length
8 days
Rating
New
Activity Level
Starts at
2,749
Special Offer
Flights start at
950

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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
8 days
7 nights
What's Included
13 meals ( 6B, 4L, 3D )
4 expert-led lectures
8 expert-led field trips
1 hands-on experience
An experienced Group Leader
6 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously).
Afternoon:
After checking in at the hotel and getting your room, take some time to freshen up and relax before our Orientation session. Orientation: 6:00 p.m..The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will learn from the Group Leader as well as local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. Unless specified otherwise, most transportation will be provided via motorcoach, thereby necessitating ascending and descending a few steps. All meals include wine and water. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. We’ll then enjoy a welcome cocktail together at the hotel before dinner.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the full day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 8 miles throughout the day, approximately 1/2 hour total riding time. Walking about 2 miles, approximately 1 hour total on cobblestone, some hills and some stairs without railings.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
At the hotel, our Group Leader will introduce us to Castellabate. There’s a saying that goes, “you cry with joy when you arrive at Castellabate, and you cry with sadness when you leave.” The medieval castle town stands above the sapphire waters of the Mediterranean. Its history is almost like an epic movie: Greeks, Goths, Normans, Byzantines, Saracens, French, and Spanish all invaded or ruled the area. Nowadays this jewel of medieval charm retains its ancient gateways and protective walls, and provides a captivating tangle of alleyways, pedestrian lanes, and steps interspersed with little piazzas, flower-lined palazzi, and stone archways. Its beauty, history, and location have led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Borghi Piu' Belli d'Italia (most beautiful villages in Italy). It is also consistently on the Bandiera Blu list, which designates the cleanest beaches in the country. Leaving the hotel, we will set out on a walking field trip exploring Castellabate. The historic center offers a unique experience, with its cobbled streets and winding alleyways that wind through the ancient walls. Walking along these evocative paths, you can admire the authenticity of the past, with the stone houses that overlook the streets and the noble palaces that bear witness to the history and nobility of the place. One of the most evocative viewpoints is Belvedere San Costabile, a terrace overlooking the sea that offers a spectacular view of the Gulf of Salerno. We will board our motorcoach and ride to a local winery where we will learn from a local expert about the local wine grape growing traditions before visiting the cellars.
Lunch:
At the winery. We will then return to the hotel.
Afternoon:
At the hotel, we will meet with locals to learn about their lifestyle, experiences, habits, traditions, and the ancient local crafts. There is a deep sense of community here. People not only know each other on a first name basis, they know each other’s preceding two generations of family, and the streets are thick with jovial, flirtatious banter, often between the most senior residents. From patron saint celebrations to weddings and funerals, everyone participates spontaneously from an early age and does so with pleasure to keep popular traditions alive and active. It is the slow pace of small, sparsely inhabited communities, where people look with curiosity at the arrival of visitors who immerse themselves to learn about and experience art and culture. Castellabate is a space of opportunities where conversations intertwine, and knowledge becomes shared.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 125 miles throughout the day, approximately 3.5 hours total riding time. Walking about 2 miles, approximately 2 hours; generally flat terrain with some flights of stairs without the railing. Extent and duration of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board our motorcoach and ride to Roscigno Vecchia. Our Group Leader will give us an on-site lecture on the ghost of Roscigno Vecchia. We will then embark on an expert-led walking field trip of an ancient village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, now populated only by memories which preserve a dignity made of simple things and a fragrance of the past. We’ll find the urban structure of the Cilento villages almost intact, with the palaces, the elegant chapels, the poor houses once inhabited by farmers, and an 18th-century church. It is a very suggestive and ideal place for photography lovers and for those looking for a unique and unconventional experience. We will visit the Museum of Rural Civilization with a local expert. The collection of 800 objects is divided into six rooms, each dedicated to one or more aspects of local popular culture. We will then board our motorcoach and ride to Teggiano, an astonishing village, which seems suspended in time, built on a small plateau overlooking the Vallo di Diano. Its historic center is full of labyrinthine streets, splendid views, churches and ancient buildings. We will walk by the best preserved castle in all of Italy, giving the town a unique appearance. You will feel like you are taking a dive into the past!
Lunch:
On your own in Teggiano. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. We will meet at a predetermined time and location to return to the hotel by motorcoach.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off motorcoach. Driving about 90 miles, approximately 3 hours throughout the day. Walking about 1.5 miles, approximately 1 hour throughout the day; uneven terrain, cobblestone with some flights of stairs without the railing.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board our private motorcoach and ride to Paestum. We’ll stop en route ride to a local cheese factory and learn how to make the "mozzarella di bufala", known as the “white gold” of Cilento, mozzarella is one of Italy’s gastronomic treasures, appreciated worldwide for its quality and unique taste. The ancient history of buffalo mozzarella in Cilento is rooted in the Middle Ages. Buffalo, originally from Asia, were introduced to the area by the Normans around the 12th century. Since then, processing buffalo milk into mozzarella has become an integral part of the local culture and economy. The artisanal techniques used to produce the mozzarella have been handed down from generation to generation, thus preserving the authenticity of this product. We'll ride to the Masseria Eliseo for a cooking lesson of traditional recipes of Campania with the Baronessa Cecilia Baratta.
Lunch:
At the masseria, we will enjoy the meal we prepared.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will ride to Paestum and begin our learning adventure with an expert-led walking field trip through the archaeological park. The Park is massive, but the experience is intimate: while carefully curated, it looks wild and unexplored, and the visitor gets to walk freely around the ruins. Compared to the over-crowded Pompei, this feels isolated and nestled in an idyllic landscape. Paestum was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, it comprises three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world. We'll return to the hotel.
Dinner:
On your own.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 160 miles throughout the day, approximately 3.5 hours riding time. Walking about 2 miles in Padula, approximately 1 hour on cobblestone streets, some hilly sections with some flights of stairs without the railing. Getting on/off a small boat pulled by the ropes in the caves on a brief ride. Walking 1 mile in the caves, approximately 1 hour on uneven terrain without railing.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board the motorcoach and ride to Padula for an expert-led walking field trip of town. During the field trip, we will visit the Charterhouse of Padula, one of those sites in Italy that escape even the most enthusiastic seekers of the less-frequented jewels of history and architecture. It is a monumental complex of baroque art, among the most important in the South, that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. The monastery was a center of culture, art, and commerce for centuries thanks to the wealth and influence of the monks. It underwent several expansions and renovations over time, mostly in Baroque style. It also played a role in the military history of Italy across several centuries, serving as a headquarters for the French during the Napoleonic Wars, a base for Garibaldi’s army during the Risorgimento, and an internment camp for prisoners during the World Wars. The Charterhouse was abandoned in 1866 by the newly formed Italian state and suffered from plundering and decay. We will explore the beautiful cloisters, gardens, chapels, and library, and admire its impressive architecture and frescoes of the Charterhouse, which is also home to the largest kitchen in the world, featuring a huge fireplace and a copper sink. It has 320 rooms and halls and the biggest cloister in the world, measuring 12,000 square meters and surrounded by 84 columns. It also has a magnificent spiral staircase of white marble, a library with a tiled floor, and many chapels decorated with marble inlays and scagliola work. Also known as the Certosa di San Lorenzo, it is a stunning complex that dates to the 14th century and covers over 120,000 square meters. We will then board our motorcoach and head to a local farmhouse for lunch.
Lunch:
At a farmhouse in Padula
Afternoon:
Ater lunch, we’ll ride to Pertosa Caves, which are situated in an attractive natural amphitheater. Recent research dates the origin of the cave to about 34 million years ago. We will visit the caves one must cross an underground river to reach. After boarding a small boat attached to ropes, we will be wisely led into the depths of the earth for some 200 meters, in a silence which is broken only by the sound of water and exclamations of surprise. After a few minutes, the boat will berth and the enchantment will begin. A wonderful waterfall created by the Black River echoes distant times; stalactites and drapes of candid alabaster hang from the vaults of the caverns, and stalagmites of strange shapes capture incredulous gazes. After this spectacular visit, we will return to the hotel by motorcoach and adjourn for the day.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 50 miles throughout the day, approximately 2 hours total riding time. Walking about 2.5 miles, approximately 2 hours on uneven terrain. Extent and duration of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Via motorcoach, we will ride to Prignano Cilento for a “white fig” experience at a local factory followed by lunch. In Cilento, there is a thriving economy linked to the production and marketing of dried figs. The activity of drying figs has for centuries made use of the same agricultural labor employed in cultivation and harvesting the fruit from the plant. It is a custom that strongly links humankind to the area and to the typical local traditions. It is easy to understand how this millenary coexistence has strongly influenced the local culture. Figs are eaten fresh, alone or accompanied by cured meats and cheeses; the dried ones are usually filled with dried fruit, fennel seeds, candied fruit or covered in chocolate and eaten as dessert. We will learn from a local expert about the history, traditions and art of producing and transforming “figs”. We will admire the innovative architecture of the place and the natural beauty of the landscape.
Lunch:
At the fig factory. We will then return to the hotel.
Afternoon:
Free time.
Dinner:
At the hotel. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m. See your program’s “Getting There” information regarding transfers.
Breakfast:
At the hotel depending on departure time. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on another rewarding program in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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