“One of the best travel experiences I have had.”
Judy B., Chico CA
You can join a group or create one (4-6 guests). Personalized trips & dates available by request. Prices include lodging, meals, drinks and transportation for 7 days.
Trips
Mountains and Sea
South of Rome, creamy limestone gives the coastal mountains a cheery aspect. The towns are built of it: homes, streets, castles, ancient ruins. Rainwater drains to underground streams and gushes from springs below. We visit a Roman “ghost town” on a cliff, rediscovered ruins of an ancient port town, and an emperor’s dining room in a cave on the Mediterranean. We tour the Gardens of Ninfa, called “the most romantic garden in the world.” And we’ll relax on a spectacular beach.
Price per person: 2500 to 3450 Euros depending on group size (4 to 6) and room occupancy (single or double)
Booking deposit $800 per person.
Dates: 7-14 June 2025
full
21-28 September 2025 full
or by request
Via Cassia: Sutri to Orvieto
Before the rise of Rome, this region was home to Etruscans and Faliscans: the first literate people in Italy, and the first with aristocracies and urban centers. After long resisting Roman expansion, they were finally overrun in the third century BC. For this military campaign the Romans built the Via Cassia through the Etruscan heartland to Florence. It’s a road with stories to tell. Along it came Charlemagne in 800, the Archbishop of Canterbury in 990, Michelangelo and friends in the 1600s. The geology is volcanic: lake-filled craters, and hot springs popular since ancient times.
Price per person: 2500 to 3450 Euros depending on group size (4 to 6) and room occupancy (single or double)
Booking deposit $800 per person.
Dates: 1-8 October 2025
or by request
The Valley of Umbria
From Spoleto to Assisi, the valley is surrounded by medieval hill towns, towers and small castles. They stand guard over a road much older: the Roman Via Flaminia. Today the region is home to orchards producing Umbria’s prize-winning olive oil, and vineyards offering celebrated wines like Sagrantino di Montefalco. Scenic paths wind through the hills and valley. We’ll explore the colorful hills towns of Spoleto, Trevi, Montefalco, Spello, and Assisi. And the rugged Nera River valley just to the east.
Price per person: 2500 to 3450 Euros depending on group size (4 to 6) and room occupancy (single or double).
Booking deposit $800 per person.
Dates: 5-12 May 2025 full
15-22 May 2025 full
or by request
Via Appia
The first of the great Roman roads ran 330 miles to the Adriatic port of Brundisium. A vital military and trade conduit, it doubled as a PR piece for the emerging superpower. Such a road had never been seen before. It conveyed ambition, boldness, power.
Two thousand years later the impression remains compelling. From the gates of Rome the road plunges straight across the countryside. Umbrella pines frame green meadows with grazing sheep and grand villas. Looming in the distance are the volcanic Alban Hills, revered by the Romans as the birthplace of their civilization. Ancient tombs line the road: space on this famous road was in demand.
The evocative atmosphere has long been celebrated in art and poetry. In the eighteenth century the Via Appia was a requisite stop for artists and literati on the “Grand Tour.” Today it’s protected parkland, a vast greenbelt of rolling hills and farms where the past comes alive.
This trip is in development: write for updates
Via Amerina
In the 3rd century BC, the Romans conquered the Faliscan people to their north and built the Via Amerina through the rugged volcanic landscape. Earlier roads had been winding and muddy, built for donkeys and small carts. In contrast the Roman road was straight, wide and paved. Canyons were bridged with barely a thought. Much of the road remains.
We’ll explore deep gorges with lush streams and waterfalls, towns on high promontories, Roman bridges, tombs of Faliscans and Romans, ruins of medieval castles. We’ll discover cliff dwellings and huge boulders carved into myriad shapes by the ancients.