Nestled between Europe’s most volatile volcano, Mount Vesuvius, and the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean, Naples is a city of vivid beauty and intense street life, where a rich and deeply layered history is matched only by the local – and now world-famous – cuisine. This is a city of multitudes, and one which will stimulate all your senses.
On this weeklong culinary adventure in and around the city of Naples, we’ll be exploring the cuisine and culture of this fascinating city, from the richly ornate to the rough and ready. We’ll use the city’s famous cooking as a window into daily life and culture, meeting culinary artisans who keep the city fed and visiting producers of specialty products. On an excursion to a volcanic crater lake, we’ll explore significant Roman ruins on the way to sample unique wines and fresh seafood. We’ll explore hidden workshops tucked into the dark alleys of the city, where a cadre of old masters practice obsolete trades like umbrella repair and market sign painting.
Along the way, we will dive deep into the spiritual side of the city — visiting the chapel of Sansevero and venturing into an underground ossuary where human bones are tended lovingly in a cult of the dead. We’ll witness an evening performance in a historic church that brings Baroque paintings to life, explore Vesuvian archeological sites, and take a pasta-making class with a master pastaiolo. And, of course, we will experience the singular miracle of Neapolitan pizza.
From street food to a lavish feast, piping-hot coffee to smooth aperitivos, folk songs to opera, hilltop farms to urban wilds, we’ll engage in the greatest culinary and cultural experiences of Naples, meeting lively local Neapolitani for whom this is the only way to live.
