The Culture of Food in Umbria
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Umbria
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May 24-30, 2026
For over thirty years, we’ve been lucky enough to call two very different but equally magical places home: our apartment in Rome and our beloved villa in Umbria. Summers, long weekends, and countless lazy afternoons have been spent here in Umbria: surrounded by rolling hills, olive groves, and the quiet rhythm of a life lived close to the land. Over the years, we’ve fallen hopelessly in love with this unspoiled corner of Italy, and we’d love to share it with you.
We’re inviting you to join us for a week steeped in the flavors, textures, and beauty of Umbria. For six delicious days, we’ll explore the region the way we love best: through its kitchens, markets, and vineyards. Most importantly, we will introduce you to the people keeping these traditions alive. We’ll taste, sip, cook, learn, wander, and have fun along the way.
Our base will be Perugia, the ancient hill town that serves as Umbria’s capital. We’ll stay at the elegant Brufani Hotel, recently restored and perfectly perched above the valley with panoramic views. From this enviable spot in the heart of the city, you can step outside to find museums, boutiques, and trattorie in your free time.
We can’t wait to welcome you into our Umbria, a place of beauty, generosity, and unforgettable meals shared around the table.
– Elizabeth and Sophie
Day 1: Arrival & Introductions
Hotel
You’ll stay at one of the oldest, and most elegant, hotels in Umbria: The Sina Brufani in Perugia. This five star hotel has recently gone through a beautiful renovation.
You’ll have time to settle in and relax before we gather in the evening. In your room, you’ll find a welcome package that includes local snacks, a tote bag for any treasures you pick up throughout the week, and our personal guide to Perugia with recommendations for places to eat and shop to help you make the most of your free evenings.
Drinks and Dinner
At 7 pm, we’ll gather in the private salon on the ground floor, for drinks to officially kick off the week. Over bubbles and nibbles, we’ll get to know each other and share a preview of the exciting experiences awaiting you in Umbria.
Afterwards we will take a short stroll down the pedestrian heart of the medieval quarter: the Corso Vanucci which leads towards the Duomo. Our destination is one of our favorite restaurants in town, where we will begin our week with an Umbrian feast.
Day 2: Orientation, History & Chocolate
Morning Orientation
Today we’ll get to know Perugia, our home base for the week. We’ll begin with a leisurely passeggiata through this layered medieval city. We’ll stop at the Collegio del Cambio to admire some of Umbria’s most beautiful frescoes, visit the iconic Fontana Maggiore, and explore the underground fortress of Rocca Paolina.
Lunch
We’ll enjoy a light meal at one of the first restaurants in Italy to embrace the Slow Food philosophy. Expect small plates of Umbrian cured meats, cheeses, and heirloom legumes.
Dessert
Perugia has been synonymous with chocolate for over a century. Since the founding of the Perugina chocolate factory in 1907 (creator of the famous Baci), the city has embraced its sweet heritage. We’ll visit one of today’s finest artisanal chocolate makers to learn the craft and try our hand at making confections.
Dinner
Tonight we are having what Italians consider a ‘light’ dinner: pizza. We head to our local favorite, and will share an array of pizzas, including local specialties with mushrooms and truffles.
Day 3: Bevagna & Wine
Bevagna
This morning we’ll head to Bevagna, a charming walled town on the banks of the Topino River. Unlike most Umbrian hill towns, Bevagna sits on flat ground with no steep climbs required. Historically, its riverside location made it a hub for artisans. We’ll visit two medieval workshops, part of an open-air “museum” spread across the village: a silk studio and a candle maker.
Sagrantino and Lunch
Next, we’ll travel to the hills of Montefalco, home to Umbria’s premier wine, Sagrantino. We will visit a family-run winery, where we’ll tour the vineyards and cellars, then enjoy a multi-course lunch with carefully paired wines.
Dinner
This evening is free for you to rest or explore Perugia at your own pace. We’re happy to help with recommendations and reservations.
Day 4: Cashmere & Farm
Cashmere
Umbria has been known for textiles since the Middle Ages, and today it is a global hub for fine wool and cashmere. Around Lake Trasimeno, known as “Cashmere Valley,” large and small family-run enterprises produce internationally renowned clothing. We’ll visit Elena, the owner of a boutique family business, to learn how these Made-in-Italy garments are created, followed by time to shop.
Farm Visit
In the late morning, we’ll head into the countryside to visit some friends on their small farm. We’ll step into the kitchen to learn traditional recipes handed down for generations: hand-rolled pasta and torta al testo, a rustic flatbread. We’ll then sit down for a hearty farm-to-table lunch featuring their own products.
Dinner
Tonight you are free to do as you wish.
Day 5: Truffles & Spello
Truffles
Today is all about truffles. We will be taking you to the small town of Trevi to one of the most highly regarded harvesters of truffles in central Umbria. Along with the hunter and his dogs, we will head out into the fields, searching both in the established truffle farm where oak trees are inoculated with spores to produce truffles, as well as the ‘wild’ woods, where the truffles occur naturally (weather permitting).
We will then head back to the farm, to learn how to put these truffles to good use. We’ll learn how to make handmade pasta dressed with truffles and local cheese.
Finally, we’ll sit down for a multi-course truffle-filled feast prepared by the talented chef who will work the truffles into every course.
Spello
After lunch we will make the short drive to one of the most charming towns in Umbria. We’ll have a leisurely stroll and some time to shop.
Dinner
After a big lunch and a long day, tonight you are on your own.
Day 6: Ceramics & Porchetta
Ceramics
This morning we’ll visit Deruta, famed for six centuries of majolica (hand-painted ceramics). After cappuccino in the historic center, we’ll tour the Museo della Ceramica, including its 11th-century kilns, before visiting a working studio to watch artisans at the wheel and brush. There will be time to shop.
Lunch
We’ll then discover one of Umbria’s most beloved specialties: porchetta. Traditionally sold from roadside stands, this succulent roast pork, seasoned with fennel and rosemary, is a regional treasure. We’ll visit a family that still roasts porchetta in a wood-fired oven, watching it pulled fresh from the flames before enjoying it with warm torta al testo.
Dinner
You will have the afternoon free to rest and explore Perugia before we meet for our final farewell dinner at one of our favorite Perugia restaurants.
Day 7: Departure
Check-out
Our tour is officially over, and you will be checking out of the hotel.
Is This Tour For You?
The Culture of Food
All of our tours are about exploring places through the culture of food. Almost all of our activities center around food, from market visits to meals at farms, trattorias, and family kitchens. You can expect generous meals and often snacks in between. If you do not have a big appetite, are squeamish, or are a picky eater, this is probably not the tour for you.
Food Intolerances
Our group meals are built around Umbria’s traditional cuisine and often include grains, dairy, and meat. Vegetarians and those with lactose or gluten intolerances will not go hungry, but may not experience the full range of the food culture we’ll be exploring. We’re happy to accommodate dietary needs where possible, but a flexible approach is essential.
Activity Level
To fully enjoy our tours, it’s important that you feel confident in your mobility. Expect walking for up to an hour or more, sometimes on uneven terrain, up and down stairs, and getting in and out of a bus multiple times. While the level is not overly strenuous, you must be able to keep up with the group without assistance. Please let us know about any mobility concerns before signing up.
Travel Companions
Many of our clients find out about us through social media and know what to expect: days spent exploring the culture of food through visits to farms, markets, and more. If you are thinking about bringing along a traveling companion (friend, spouse, relative, partner), please make sure they are aware of the types of things we will be doing. If they are not interested in food, visiting farms, eating in rustic settings, etc., they won’t enjoy this tour. Please note: Our tours are for adults only.
Pricing:
Pricing:
Double occupancy (2 people in 1 room): €7200 per person
Single occupancy (1 person in 1 room): €8000 per person
The fee includes:
- Six nights in five star hotel Sina Brufani
- Daily breakfast
- All of the meals, activities and transportation outlined above
- Gratuities
- Voucher for an aperitivo in the hotel’s bar
Not included:
- Transportation to and from Italy
- Transportation to and from airport
Itinerary:
Our tours focus on small, family-run businesses, so we reserve the right to adjust the itinerary as needed. Days may be switched, activities added or changed, and locations substituted. A final itinerary will be sent 30 days before the tour begins.
Group Size:
This tour is limited to 12 participants.
Elizabeth Minchilli and her daughter Sophie are consummate hosts and guides. Every facet of our week in Umbria was planned and executed to perfection. We had incredible meals and gained cultural insights that deepened my love of Italy. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Rebecca
Your Hosts for the Week
Elizabeth Minchilli
Elizabeth is one of the founders and owners of Via Rosa Tours. She has been writing about the joys of Italian life for 35 years. She is the author of 9 books on Italy, including her most recent, The Italian Table, Eating My Way Through Italy, and Eating Rome. She has written for over 40 publications, including Bon Appetit, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, and The New York Times. Her award-winning blog is where she has shared her passion for Italian food, writing about recipes, meals, and restaurants for the past 15 years. She now publishes one of the best-selling travel newsletters on Substack. She has been leading food tours since 2011, and you can read about them in magazines and in this article from the New York Times. You can follow Elizabeth on her very active Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she shares scenes from daily life, including her tours.
Sophie Minchilli
Sophie Minchilli is a writer, tour leader, and co-founder of Via Rosa, which she started with her mother, Elizabeth Minchilli and has been leading food tours in Rome and throughout Italy since 2015. Her favorite part of the work is connecting with the people who grow, prepare, and preserve Italy’s culinary traditions. Her deep relationships with farmers, restaurant owners, baristas, and shopkeepers—many from an older generation—are joyfully visible in the videos she shares on social media. Sophie’s approach to life is rooted in slowing down and savoring everyday pleasures, a philosophy she shares in her book The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: Living Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente. She documents her daily life and travels on Instagram and TikTok and also makes guest appearances on TV including the Puglia episode of Season 2 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, available on CNNgo and Discovery+. (here is a clip)