Experience Italy in a way you never dreamed possible!
InCompagnia (IC) Shared Tours and
Cooking Classes
If you enjoy meeting new people, tasting the best of local cuisine and wish to save on tour fees, the InCompagnia Shared Tours and FESTAtours are for you!
Shared InCompagnia tours may be half-day or full-day tours.
All FESTAtours are full-day tours.
Both FESTAtours and InCompagnia tours include:
* all entrance tickets to museums and historic sites visited (tips as applicable)
* special additional highlights (unique to each tour)
*"banquet" lunch (and you will not need dinner!) for full-day InCompagnia tours and FESTAtours. Lunch includes full meal, all wines and other beverages, tip
* transportation to and from tour destination (for groups of minimum 10)
AND
* nearly 2 hrs per tour of extra guide time! The Region of Umbria mandates that half-day tours run 2 - 1/2 hrs and my tours usually run about 4 hours. Full-day tours as mandated by the Region of Umbria conclude at 6 hrs (my tours often run 8 hrs - or more!)
In-Compagnia and FESTAtours are generally limited to 12 (occasionally, to 14) and run with a minimum of 6 persons.
Fees per person:
* Half-day InCompangia and FESTAtours: $25 as confirmation fee + 45 E at the time of the tour
* Full-day InCompangia and FESTAtours: $25 as confirmation fee + 125 E at the time of the tour (lunch included)
PLEASE NOTE... if you don't find a date that fits your schedule, we can add your request to the 2009 InCompagnia Calendar!
2010 IC CALENDAR
Full-day IC Tours | Half-day IC Tours | IC Cooking Classes
Comments
Full-day IC Tours
IC Assisi/Spello (my BEST SELLER!)
Artistic
treasures in Assisi - meeting the artisans; in Spello, wonderful
tastings-as-lunch event in medieval wine cellar: top wines,
prize-winning olive oils, truffle patés, wild boar salami, and
MUCH more (please ask for details). Afterwards, meeting
with special friar artisan; visit to my favorite Umbrian Renaissance
fresco cycle.
Time permitting, up the mountain to walled castle-village
(pop: under 40!). This has quickly become my most popular tour!
Happy to set up others at date of your choice. (See comments below). Please
see a more
detailed description of this tour.
Dates: January 4, April 6, 12, 14, 17, 27, 28, May 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 27, 28, 31, June 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 22, 26, July 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24, Aug, 9, 12, Sept 15, 18, Oct 14, 24, Nov 4, 18, Dec 15
Please feel free to request other dates!
Rural Life Revisited: A Tribute to the Past, to the People - NEW TOUR!
This new tour is targeted at providing participants with an "inside" look at rural life of the past, as still lived by so very few. Please see a more detailed description of this tour.
This tour is for those who wish to:
• take in the beauty of the landscape
• interact with local rural people in their own ambience
• learn about past lifestyles from our farm neighbors, told with deep insight and profound wisdom
• enjoy a superb meal of la cucina genuina (the best in home-cooking)
• ...and have a completely out-of-the-ordinary and unforgettable "tour experience"!
(See comments below.)
Dates: April 1, 8, May 25, June 20, 23, 24, July 11, 14, 16, 23, Aug 9, 13, Sept 3, 30, Oct 16, Nov 20
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Assisi tour
Please see description of this tour on Assisi
tour page.
Dates: June 7
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Spello/Bevagna
Renaissance fresco masterpiece - meetings with local artisans -
wine-tasting and tastings of Umbrian delicacies - "hidden treasures"
of the Roman period and later - immersion in local life. (See comments
below.)
Dates: April 23, April 5, Aug 31, Oct 6
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Bevagna/Montefalco tour
Please see description of this new tour on Umbria
tour page.
Dates: May 29, Aug, 8, Sept 7, 26, Nov 21
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Bevagna - Medieval Immersion tour
Please see description of this tour on Umbria
tour page.
Dates:
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Perugia/Deruta
In Perugia (morning) - exquisite medieval architecture - Etruscan city gates - Renaissance frescoes - most special private visit to historic library archives to view illluminated manuscripts - tasting the famed chocolates.
In Deruta (afternoon) - buonissimo rural "banquet" with
warm and welcoming farm friends in the Deruta countryside - afterwards,
private tour of family-run maiolica industry - countryside stop
at extraordinary shrine adorned with over 600 maiolica folkart
gems. (See comments below). Please
see a more
detailed description of this tour.
Dates: April 7, 10, 29, May 11, 29, 31, July 13, 17, 26, Aug 10, Sept 13, 16, 20, Oct 1, Nov 22
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Deruta/Spello
In Deruta, città della ceramica visit to family-run industry
to learn about production - countryside stop at most special shrine
adorned with over 600 maiolica folkart gems.
In Spello, meeting with friar artisan - magnificent Renaissance
fresco cycle - wonderful tastings-as-lunch event in medieval wine
cellar: top wines, prize-winning olive oils, truffle patés,
wild boar salami, etc; then up the mountain to walled castle-village
(pop: under 40!).
Dates:
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Spoleto tour
Spoleto
incorporates an extraordinary blend of Roman, Early Christian, medieval
and Renaissance architecture - making it the perfect stage-setting
for the "Festival of the Two Worlds" of Giancarlo Menotti. For a complete description of this tour, please visit the Spoleto
tour page.
Dates:
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Spoleto/Spello
Roman, early Christian, medieval, Renaissance art and architecture
- lunch of Umbrian specialties in charming ambience - meeting the
artisans - wine-tasting.
Dates: Sept 22
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Gubbio
A drive through magnificent landscape enroute. In Gubbio - observing
talented ceramicists and learning about the ancient Etruscan black
bucchero ware - visit to magnifico medieval civic palace - wine-tasting
- buonissimo lunch of local Eugubine specialties at one of
Umbria's top restaurants. (See comments
below.)
Dates: April 3, June 13, Sept 28, Oct 10
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Gubbio/Deruta
Dates:
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Narni and Nera River Valley
A most interesting cathedral, subterranean discoveries - cucina
genuina lunch in local trattoria - drive through breathtaking
landscape - frescoed 8th c. Lombard abbey church in the mountains...
a day most definitely "off the beaten track."
Dates: May 11, Oct 12
Please feel free to request dates!
Montefalco and Nostalgia Cuisine
If you love art and history, enjoy meeting the "locals",
appreciate magnificent "off-the -beaten path" landscapes
AND want to taste the BEST of our Umbrian cuisine, this tour is
for you. (For more information please go to "Undiscovered"
Umbria.)
Dates: May 25, July 18, Oct 10
Please feel free to request other dates!
Half-day Tours
IC Assisi tour (morning)
Art treasures - meeting the local artisans - visit to privately-owned
historic home or a meeting with a protagonist of the "Assisi
Underground" (the hiding of nearly 300 Jews here in WWII).
Dates: January 4, April 6, 12, 28, May 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 27, 28, 31, June 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 19(afternoon), 22, 26, July 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, Aug 9, 12, Sept 15, 18, Oct 14, 24, Nov 4, 16, 18, Dec 15
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Spello (afternoon)
Picturesque backstreets and hidden courtyards - Renaissance fresco
masterpiece, 12th c. churches - meetings with local artisan - wine-tasting
and tastings of Umbrian delicacies.
Dates: January 4, April 6, 12, 23, 28, May 14, 17, 18, 21. 24, 27, 28, 31, June 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 22, 26, July 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24, Aug 29, 30, 31 Aug 9, 12, Sept 15, 18, Oct 14, 24, Nov 4, 18, Dec 15
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Bevagna tour (morning)
"Hidden treasures" of the Roman period and later, wine-tasting
and tastings of Umbrian delicacies. (For more information see Umbria
Tours page.)
Dates: April 23, May 29, Aug 8, Sept 7, 26, Oct 6
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Montefalco tour (afternoon)
Medieval church - medieval and Renaissance art museum - Sagrantino
tasting. (For more information see Umbria
Tours page.)
Dates: May 29, Aug, 8, Sept 7, 26, Oct 6
Please feel free to request dates!
IC Perugia tour (morning)
Exquisite medieval architecture - Etruscan city gates - Renaissance
frescoes - illluminated manuscripts, tasting the famed chocolates.
(See comments below.)
Dates: April 7, 10, 29, May 11, 29, 31, June 7, 12, July 13, 17, 26, Aug 10, Sept 13, 16, 20, Oct 1, Nov 22
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Deruta tour
(afternoon)
Lunch in private home in the Deruta countryside - afterwards, private
tour of family-run maiolica industry - countryside stop at
extraordinary shrine adorned with over 600 maiolica folkart gems.
Dates: April 7, 10, 29, May 11, 29, 31, June 7, 12, July 13, 17, 26, Aug 19, Sept 13, 16, 20, Oct 1, Nov 22
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Gubbio tour (morning)
Dates: June 13, Sept 28, Oct 10
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Spoleto tour (morning)
Dates: Sept, 21, 22
Please feel free to request other dates!
IC Orvieto tour
Dates: Apr, 27
Please feel free to request other dates!
Comments
Assisi IC Tour
"Anne, your half-day tour IN-COMPAGNIA
Assisi was a wonderful way to explore and learn about St. Francis
and the town. Your in-depth knowledge and understanding of the life
and times of Francis, along with your willingness to adjust the
content of her tours to best suit the group, really made for a unique
and enjoyable tour for everyone. I had worried about 'dragging'
the group down with my young children, but you kept them busy with
activities and neat facts (they loved the turkey painting and the
hidden secrets of the buildings you led us to!) I think those
people considering a tour with children will be thrilled with how
you are able to involve them as well as the adults. Assisi was
my favorite part of our Italian vacation, and your guidance and
obvious love of Assisi made our experience so much more meaningful.
... and here are comments from our kids:
Elizabeth (age 7): I really liked seeing all of the old tunnels
inside the shops - those building are really old! We counted
all of the holy signs on the houses and buildings too - and saw
the first painting of a turkey in Italy! Anne asked us questions
about St. Francis and gave us a tau cross and a peace dove too -
we had fun.
Patrick (age 6): I liked the tunnels and counting the holy
signs. I didn't have to run to catch up. Anne kept asking
us questions about St. Francis and told us about him."
Chris Nolin and family, Pittsburgh, PA
Rural Life Revisited
"We were part of the inauguration tour Rural Life Revisited. It was a great view into a fast-disappearing way of life. The farm people are friendly, humorous and earthy. Conversation with them was a treat. The food at lunch was delicious, and it was such a treat to eat a meal of all foods grown on th e farm. But remind signora to keep your portions small unless you intend to work in the field after lunch."
Peter Roth, Palo Alto, CA
"Yesterday I had the magnificent opportunity to see, taste, and meet the people of Umbria and have come to know why it is so splendid during a personally guided tour of local farms and their owners. It is actually rare to know an experience is an event of a lifetime, but yesterday was!! I know I can only thank Anne for this Umbrian adventure. I became a part of this community - the people, their way of being and living."
Karen Boose, Boise, ID
"The most impressive part of the tour was meeting the rural people, hearing their stories, seeing their faces and their stories written there. They all - men and women - worked long hard days but were content, happy and really spent quality time with their families and neighbors. Hard work yet happiness etched deeply in the faces of the farm families. A slice of life that is dying and not to be missed!!"
Joanne and Mike Kaeske, Park City, UT
"Thank you so much for all of the wonderful tours and classes and for letting us get a close up view into everyday life in Italy. That is a gift that we could never have seen on our own. The farm friends of yours that we met simpply made our trip much more special than simply going on yet another 'walking tour'. We loved all the shared meals, wine and conversations... oh that cooking lesson!"
Joan King, NC
Bevagna/Spello IC Tour
"The absolute highlight of my entire trip throughout Italy was that absolutely delightful afternoon I spent with you in Spello - an experience very few travellers would be lucky enough to be able to participate in it. Well, what an experience! The absolutely delightful location, the truly wonderful and fantastic Italian wines, the foods... and the singer - I will NEVER forget him.
Anne, I am most indebted to you for without you, none of this would have happened. Your IN-COMPAGNIA tours gave me the chance - as a single person - to enjoy a tour of the hilltowns - thank you so very much. You are a wonderful person and I really appreciate everything that you did for me on that great day and also, special thanks for your kind offer to me to contact you by phone if I needed help anywhere in Italy. That was a very kind and generous offer and I can tell you that as a member of the "older" generation, travelling alone in a foreign non-English speaking country It was somewhat re-assuring for me to know that I had "friend" in Italy.
Anne, again for the hundredth time, thank you so very much. Warm wishes to you and your family."
Bob Sandercock, Kapunda, South Australia
"Thanks to Anne, Bevagna and Spello
became much more than two dimensional Italian towns. Not only
did we gain insight into the history, art and architecture of these
delightful hidden treasures but we had a virtual reality experience
through the welcome, comments and insight of the local residents.
Whether the tailor, pasta cook, local history professor, chef or
parish priest all contributed to our discoveries. A day filled
with a most unusual smorgasbord of Umbrian treats."
Tom Morrison, Jasper, GA
"Out of all
the tours during our 4 and 1/2 month trip through Europe Anne's
was certainly the best. It only took one tour with Anne for
us to book more tours with her for the rest of our week in Assisi.
The first day my little brother came home raving about the great
cooking lesson he had with Anne. Looking from his pictures, I should
have gone too! The next day my mom and I went on Anne's Spello/Bevagna
tour. This was one of the most amazing moments of the trip for me.
Of all the places we went in Europe, I had the most feeling for
what it was like to be a local in Italy, because of Anne's tour.
I met so many people - the butcher, the tailor, etc. - I felt like
a local. Anne also gave me an appreciation of the history that is
all around you in Europe - but you really have to look to find it.
I saw things that I wouldn't have seen otherwise, a papermaker,
a medieval coinery, a silk making shop, but most importantly I saw
Italy's people and their lives. Truly, I will never look at life
the same way again."
Taylor Corbett, 13 years old, Seattle, WA
"Our group of 4 took part in Anne's IN-COMPAGNIA
tour to Bevagna/Spello this April. Anne never ceases to amaze
me with her knowledge, experience and especially her enthusiasm
as she takes us through Italy's cities and medieval hill towns.
I've been with Anne on at least four of her Assisi Artisan tours
and each time learned something new... and as usual, Anne not only
gives us a tour, but always provides us contact with the locals
- as she translates between their Italian and our English.
For this tour, Anne rented a bus for all of us - so that she could
talk about Umbria and Italy today, to all of us as we rode - and
also describe what we were seeing as we went: the crops, special
sites. We even passed the little shrine put up on the legendary
site of St Francis's sermon to the birds - off a country road (even
our bus driver didn't know where it was and had never seen it!).
The Bevagna/Spello tour was outstanding, a truly special treat,
that I hadn't expected. Bevagna, a precious undiscovered gem hides
many secrets of its Roman and medieval past which we saw with Anne
- and an elderly local historian she knows. We met many of the locals,
including a tailor, a butcher (and Anne had us do a tasting of local
cheeses, capocollo, etc., there), the bakers (tasting of typical
local sweets there)...and craftsmen who showed us medieval crafts
(as they are preparing now for their festival end of June... see
FESTAtours). My
favorites were the woman who mints the old Roman coins and the papermaker
who took us through the steps of the ancient method of making paper
(complete with watermark) from rags and pieces of cloth (his workshop:
the ruins of the Roman theater!). Then on to Spello. Our first stop
was for a wine-tasting-olive-oil-tasting-as-lunch in a medieval
wine cellar. Eight different wines served to enhance each entree
from wild boar salami, pate's,cheeses, etc., and ending with local
delicacies. Before our return to Assisi that afternoon, we met Brother
Paul, an elderly Franciscan Brother and saw the artwork he prepares
for Spello's spring floral festival (again, see FESTAtours)
as well as his sculptures..
After Spello, on to a tiny mountain village where less than 40 people
live... what a gem! We then took a scenic mountain road back to
Assisi - which we never would have found on our own.
This tour with Anne was one of the highlights of our Assisi trip
this year. We also found her tour prices so very reasonable!
Our tour lasted from 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. and cost $150 each -
which included: bus rental, all of our entrance fees to monuments,
tastings in Bevagna at the butcher's and the baker's, that wonderful
tasting lunch in Spello... and all of Anne's input - and I don't
mean just during the tour. Anne told us about the best restaurants
near our hotel, concerts going on, and other local events to
catch during the duration of our stay in Umbria (as she did for
all the others in the tour - everyone staying in different places
for different periods - she had even booked the hotels for some)."
Piero della Francesca IC Tour
"Seeing the frescoes and other Renaissance
art in Perugia set the stage for our next day which Annie had arranged.
A Pierro della Francesco trail tour! A fun driver, Mauro, took us
and another couple to Arezzo to meet our guide, Gianna (so knowledgeable!).
There, we saw Piero's frescoes of the “Story of the True Cross”;
then, we went to a tiny hamlet to see his pregnant “Madonna”;
and finished the day seeing the “Resurrection” in Sansepulcro.
The art was inspiring; not to mention the landscapes of driving
through Umbria into Tuscany following Francesco’s trail!"
Kathy Berry, Milton, MA
Gubbio IC Tour
"Our group enjoyed a full-day tour of
Gubbio with Anne, which included information on history and sites
along our drive (beautiful landscape!), visit to her artisan friends,
an informative and enjoyable wine-tasting... and the best lunch
of our 2 wks in Umbria.
Anne brings a lot of passion and knowledge to her subject matter.
Her love of Italy - its people and culture- along with her sense
of humor enhanced our time in Umbria immensely. We spent 3 different
days with Anne (Gubbio, Calendimaggio in Assisi, and a cooking lesson)
- not enough!"
Molly Bowles, Los Altos, CA
Perugia IC Tour
"Dear Anne,
You really made our trip to Umbria much more memorable. You opened our
eyes to the artisitic, cultural, political and religious sigificance and
history of every town we visited with you.
And who can forget all the wonderful local meals and the special wine
tasting you arranged both for our private and great group tours, and the
great joy we derived from all the fun company? Truly, none of this would
have happened without you!
We are also most grateful for how you shared with us the benefits of your
terrific network of personal contacts, from the very good guide you
arranged in Orvieto, to the whipped cream master of Perugia, to the master
tailor and more hospitable hoteliers of Bevagna. You took such good care
of us. Gracie and ciao!!"
Betty and Jonathan
"Seeing the illuminated manuscripts in
the archives in Perugia was magnificent - and a highlight of our
stay in Italy! Seeing them up close, with no plastic or glass separating
them from us, to be able to see, smell, touch something over
1,000 years old... amazing! Maude, the librarian, was so very
eager and enthusiastic about showing us everything - and explaining
the techniques, history of the manuscripts and volumes we saw. My
favorites: the very large Bible of the year 1000 AD and the biography
of St. Francis of the early 13th century."
Rebecca Runge, Oakland, CA
Perugia/Deruta IC Tour
"What a splendid time we spent in Perugia and then in Deruta! Because one day with Anne was just a tease, we booked this unplanned delight. An ever genial Anne took us to eat with a wonderful couple in their farm home. Giuseppa prepared a traditional Umbrian meal with ALL the ingredients from her own farm. Paulo her husband was a welcome member at our table and throughout, Anne told stories of past and present. After our feast we were toured through the farm, completed by a meeting of Paulo's prized wild boar hounds. It was a truly special day. Mille Grazie Anne! I can't even yet get my mind around all the delights you opened us up to in Umbria. Halleluiah!!"
Lisa Nicks, Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada