The Heart of Italy with Chef Taylor Mason
Le Marche, Umbria & Tuscany
May 13-22, 2027
Starting at $6,900/person
The Heart of Italy is a culinary journey through Italy's true cultural and geographic center — where traditions run deep, recipes are fiercely protected, and daily life still revolves around the table. You'll travel alongside Chef Taylor Mason to uncover the flavors of these regions!
This tour is truly off the beaten path, starting in Le Marche where small villages and multigenerational producers preserve foodways that feel untouched by time, then to Italy's "Green Heart" of Umbria, defined by forests, olive groves, and truffle-rich hills.
We conclude our journey in the wild Maremma of southern Tuscany — a land of volcanic stone, Etruscan history, and pastoral cooking.
Together, these regions form the literal and symbolic heart of Italy — geographically central, culturally rich, and deeply connected to the land. Traveling through them is like stepping into the rhythm of everyday Italian life, where meals are stories, ingredients are heritage, and hospitality comes straight from the soul.
Keep reading to see Trip Highlights and specifics on pricing, how to book, and what's included! Contact us with any questions.
About Chef Taylor Mason
Chef Taylor is the chef and owner of Lancaster, PA restaurants, LUCA and Pizzeria LUCA. LUCA focuses on the traditions of Italy while being rooted in the heritage of Lancaster, as a farm-driven kitchen with locally sourced vegetables and meats, as well as handmade pasta. They are committed to acquiring fresh local ingredients and establishing relationships with farmers and artisans.
Join us and see for yourself why Chef Taylor was named as a semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chefs in America Award in 2020!
Itinerary
MONTEGIORGIO (3 nights) – nestled between the Apennines and the Adriatic, where mountains, farmland, and sea come together to shape a cuisine of remarkable variety.
PERUGIA (3 nights) – vibrant Perugia is in the heart of Umbria, and its 14th-century historic center will enchant you! The city's central location is ideal for exploring all of the area's highlights during our time in Umbria!
SORANO (3 nights) – this picturesque medieval hill town in the Maremma area of southern Tuscany is known for its ancient stone buildings, narrow winding streets, and stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
Tour Highlights
Relax in the replenishing and rejuvenating waters of the natural thermal springs of Saturnia.
Enjoy the unique opportunity to travel alongside a professional chef and take advantage of his culinary knowledge and love of Italian cuisine
Experience a truffle hunt with an experienced guide and his faithful dogs as they lead us through their carefully cultivated truffle beds (as seen on CNN's "Finding Italy" with Stanley Tucci!)
Spend the day at the home of a local butcher and learn how to make traditional porchetta and enjoy a porchetta feast!
Pricing and other details
- Double occupancy: $6900/person
- Single supplement: $1000
Deposit of $3200/person is due upon booking to reserve your spot, along with a signed & completed registration form. Booking is not considered confirmed until deposit has been received.
Final payment is due 60 days prior to departure, or installments can be made at any time up until that due date.
*The Best Price Guaranteed rate is the lowest price that will be offered for this tour. Once the Early Bird deadline has passed, pricing and promotions may change at any time. Any future discounts or special offers apply to new bookings only. We are unable to provide retroactive discounts or price adjustments for existing reservations.
Pricing includes:
- Nine nights of hotel accommodations (3 nights in Le Marche, 3 nights in Perugia, 3 nights in Sorano)
- All planned excursions & classes, including visits to artisanal producers and a hands-on cooking class.
- Meals included: daily breakfasts at our accommodations and most lunches & dinners. We curate each menu to focus on traditional regional specialties, accompanied by local wines.
- Experienced tour leaders and local guides
- Private motorcoach transportation throughout the tour
- Airport transfers on specified arrival/departure days/times. We include one group transfer for your arrival and departure at specified times. Any additional transfer will be at your own cost.
- Pre-tour virtual meetings and planning materials.
Not included:
- Airfare
- Gratuity for driver and Curata Travel tour leaders, at your discretion
- Any spending during free time, personal purchases, extraneous hotel charges (minibar, laundry service, etc.) and any alcoholic beverages not included with meals.
Each member of the tour will be responsible for booking their own international flights. Flights are not included in the tour cost. One group transfer will be provided based on the times below. Any additional private transfers would be at your own cost.
You will be picked up at the Rome airport (FCO) on May 13 at 1:00p.m., then dropped off at the Rome airport (FCO) on May 22 by 10:00a.m.
We strongly recommend waiting to book non-refundable flights until your tour has been officially confirmed (at least 90 days prior to departure). While tour cancellations are uncommon, they can happen if minimum enrollment isn’t met.
If you prefer to book flights earlier, we recommend choosing refundable tickets or travel insurance that covers trip cancellation.
To ensure a high-quality, fully supported experience for all participants, our tours require a minimum number of confirmed guests before departure. Most of our tours operate with ~20 travelers; however, we must confirm a minimum of 12 guests before a tour is guaranteed to depart.
We typically make a final decision 90 days before departure. If the minimum number is not met by that date, we will notify all registrants and offer options including:
✔ transferring to a future departure date
✔ applying deposit toward another tour
✔ a full refund
Important: We strongly recommend that you do not purchase non-refundable flights until your tour departure is confirmed.
Our tours are designed for curious, engaged travelers who enjoy being out and about each day. While we don’t run “athletic” trips, our itineraries are active and require a good level of everyday mobility and stamina.
Most days include extended sightseeing, walking through historic centers, standing during guided visits, and getting on and off our touring vehicle multiple times.
You’ll likely enjoy this tour if the statements below feel comfortable and realistic for you:
✅ I can stand for up to an hour at a time
Guided visits at museums, historic sites, wineries, markets, and food producers often involve periods of standing. Seating is not always available.
✅ I can comfortably walk several miles over the course of a day
Daily sightseeing can add up to 8,000–12,000 steps. Walks are typically broken up throughout the day, but may include:
- Uneven cobblestones
- Hills or gradual inclines
- Rural paths at farms, vineyards, or countryside estates
You don’t need to be fast — but you should feel comfortable walking at a relaxed, steady pace with the group.
✅ I can get on and off a motorcoach without assistance
Our tours use comfortable touring vehicles, but they do require stepping up and down multiple times per day. Step heights vary by vehicle and location, and lifts are not available.
✅ I can manage stairs
Many historic buildings, small hotels, wineries, and family-run establishments do not have elevators, or may have only a few steps here and there. Even in hotels with elevators, some areas may still require stairs.
✅ I can handle my own luggage when needed
While assistance is often available, porterage is not guaranteed at every property. Guests should be able to:
- Roll or carry luggage short distances
We strongly recommend packing light and using manageable luggage.
✅ I have the stamina for a full, multi-day itinerary
Our tours are immersive and full of experiences from morning into the evening. Travel days, hotel changes, and full sightseeing schedules can be tiring — in a good way! Guests should feel comfortable keeping up with a busy but rewarding pace.
A few items of note for some of the destinations and the trip as a whole to help set expectations and better prepare you for the trip. Some of the expectations are outlined in our Traveler Guidebook and the Terms & Conditions form that you will use to register (see specifically the Traveler Code and Traveler Expectations sections), but to reiterate some as they specifically relate to this tour's itinerary.
Cusine - As hopefully most of you know, our tours focus heavily on the culinary specialities of each region and town we visit. So when we arrange a lunch/dinner or culinary experience, we are working with those restaurants to plan menus in advance that highlight the seasonal produce, dishes that reflect the region we’re in. We will be collecting some of this information at a later date from you, but if there are food allergies we need to be aware of, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them. If there are entire categories of food that you just don’t eat (and are not willing to try), this might not be the tour for you!
Terrain: The towns we will be visiting and staying in are all beautiful medieval towns and these areas in particular are known for their hilltop villages. So you can expect cobblestone streets, some uneven surfaces, and steps or hills in many places. You should be comfortable traversing this type of terrain. The village of Sorano could pose particular challenges to those with mobility issues. One hotel does not have an elevator available.
Excursions: With all of our excursions, you are not forced to participate if something like this is not your ’thing.’ You always have the option to stay behind and enjoy some free time on your own (please note, as mentioned in the Terms & Conditions, there is no compensation or refund for any portion of the tour or excursion you do not participate in).
Gallery
Enjoy some highlights of this tour!