Olive oil and grapes are the focus of our fall workshop. We'll harvest olives right on Borgo La Pietraia's property, learning ancient and modern methods for picking and pressing. We'll explore the countryside of Cilento to visit other olive farms and enjoy a fall truffle hunt with dogs high in the mountains.

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In Prignano Cilento we'll have a tour and lunch at Santomiele, an artisan producer transforming figs into luxury products. The fall is when the late summer figs have been sufficiently dried and ready to be stuffed with chocolate, nuts, and orange peel.

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In Castelfranci, we'll head into the vineyards at Il Cancelliere to learn the ins and outs of the harvest, then enjoy a homemade lunch with the winemakers. 

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This tour includes a free day to relax at the Borgo, or take an an optional day trip to Matera. 

The group will meet at 2 pm in the Naples train station. From there, our private van will take us to Borgo La Pietraia (about a 1.5-hour drive) to check in and relax. 

We'll gather for a 5-course meal in the evening to kick off our week together. 

For centuries, people in Cilento have turned the local white fig into confections. Santomiele marries every part of these traditional processes with a close and loving exploration of history. Santomiele would look like a Cartier showroom if it were in the middle of a national park and specialized in figs and chocolates instead of diamonds.

At sunset, we'll visit the 3,000-year-old temples of Paestum with an archaeologist. 

We'll harvest olives on the property of Borgo La Pietraia then have a picnic lunch outside in the field. After we'll travel to the local frantoio to press the olives.

After exploring the Cilento Coast from the water, we'll visit the Mediterranean Diet Museum in Pioppi, where Ancel Keys first studied and codified his discovery.

Visit Il Canceliere, a family-run winery in Irpinia, for a farmhouse lunch with the winemakers and then time in the vines to learn about the harvest. 

Enjoy a free day to relax. Optional day trip to Matera, 3 hours away by car, for a guided tour of the city, and lunch at a local trattoria. 

Chef Mario Stellato will host a cooking class focused on the most traditional dishes in Cilento, which are also the foundation of the Mediterranean Diet. 

After breakfast at 10 am, our van will transfer the group back to Naples.