OPERA & FOOD TOUR - Maritaly by Gazzella Viaggi - Inbound Tour Operator in the Marche region

Description:
The opera and food tour concentrates on the celebrated Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and the open-air opera season in Macerata in the beautiful Le Marche Region. Between musical performances, there are guided visits to fascinating medieval and Renaissance towns.
The tour begins in Rome, highlighted by an afternoon guided walking tour to many of the Capital’s landmarks. The next day we travel to Le Marche Region in Central Italy. We will have four days in Macerata to experience its world renowned Opera Festival held at the imposing open air arena, the Sferisterio. After Macerata, we head north to the City of Pesaro situated on the Adriatic Coast, a city proud of its talented and famous son Rossini, born in 1792. Naturally, the city is a centre of musical appreciation withits performances at the annual Rossini Opera Festival in August.
The City of Pesaro is rich in culture and historical landmarks. From Pesaro, we will visit the famous Renaissance town of Urbino with its Ducal Palace, housing the Galleria Nazionaledelle Marche. There are also guided visits to Loreto, Recanati, Gradara, and San Marino.
We are going to visit 4 opera performances. There are 1 performance at the Sferisterio in Macerata, 2 performances at the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro and 1 perfomance at the Villa Incanto in Recanati.

Day 1 Rome (Dinner) Arrival and private transfer to the hotel. Your tour leader will meet you at the airport and escort you to the hotel in the centre of Rome. Introductions are made and a small talk on the tour will precede an afternoon stroll through some of the famous ‘piazze’ of Rome. The guided walking tour will include Piazza della Repubblica, the Fountain of Trevi, Piazza della Rotonda, Piazza Navona and finally Campo de` Fiori. Then an early dinner in a family restaurant in the beautiful part of Rome.

Day 2 Rome/Macerata/ (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast, we leave Rome for Macerata and begin our opera and food tour. We will travel in air-conditioned comfort through the beautiful countryside of the Central Apennines. After a lunch in a tipical restaurant in San Benedetto del Tronto in fascinating place, famous for its beachfront adorned with magnificent palm trees, we proceed to Macerata for check-in at our hotel.
We will spend the afternoon with a local guide who will take us through the city’s famous landmarks and museums.
Dinner will be had at a local restaurant before an evening at the opera at the magnificent Sferisterio.

Day 3 Macerata/Ascoli Piceno (Breakfast, Lunch) Morning is for your please. Lunch is organised at a local restaurant specialising in local cuisine and wines.. In the afternoon we travel to Ascoli Piceno for a tour of the historical part of the City, walking around the Piazza del Popolo and the other main square, Piazza Arringo. In Ascoli Piceno you have also the possibility to visit Ascoliva, Ascoli Piceno’s official stuffed olive Festival. The eight days event, which will take place in the square Arrigo, will offer visitors a varied program including workshops, tastings, debates, performances and cultural itineraries, with the participation of leading manufacturers of handcrafted olive all'ascolana.
Olive tastings from all participating producers will be available alongside other traditional local food products tied to the fritto misto all'ascolana and much more.

Day 4 Macerata/Recanati (Breakfast, Lunch, Apericena) The morning consists of free time to explore at your leisure and lunch at the typical restaurant of Macerata. In the afternoon we visit the town of Recanati. This was the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi, Italy’s greatest romantic poet. It is also the home of world renowned tenor, Benianimio Gigli. We then visit the museum in Villa Colloredo-Melson on the outskirts of the town which holds Recanati’s greatest art treasures, including a room with four of Lorenzo Lotto’s finest pictures. After an Apericena on the main square of Recanati you will have a brand new way to enjoy the world of opera. Set in exclusive, elegant locations the evening is presented in the style of the old music rooms, where the proximity of the performers to the audience helps to amplify the emotion and transform the drama into reality. Well known operatic masterpieces have been elegantly reworked into touching slices of the original, performed by successful, professional singers in carefully selected dramatic costumes and accompanied by a pianoforte. experience is simply unique.
You can change today evening program for the performance at the Sferisterio (at additional cost).

Day 5 Macerata/Loreto/Pesaro (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast, our opera and food tour  continues when we leave Macerata and travel to the northern most part of Le Marche Region. Our stay for the next 6 nights is in the City of Pesaro, situated on the Adriatic Coast. On the way, we will make a stop at Loreto for lunch in a beautiful hill town, second only to Assisi and Rome as a place of religious pilgrimage. The town is a showcase of some of Italy’s greatest artists and architects. Free time and Dinner at the hotel.

Day 6 Pesaro/San Marino (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast at the hotel, we travel just over the border of Le Marche for a visit to the tiny Republic of San Marino. This is a day for shopping, as San Marino is jammed with duty-free shops. As well as souvenirs, you can pick up perfume, watches and leather bags at very reasonable prices. San Marino is also worth a visit for its history and pageantry, and its magnificent hilltop setting which offers excellent views of the countryside. After the lunch in a local restaurant and enjoying all that San Marino has to offer, the group will travel back to Pesaro for a free afternoon, followed by dinner at the hotel.

Day 7 Pesaro (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast, a local guide will accompany the group as we stroll through the streets of Pesaro. We will visit the house of the Gioachino Rossini and the Rossini Conservatoire, which hosts many items of Rossini memorabilia. We will explore the ancient centre of Pesaro with its Ducal Palace and Piazza del Popolo. Lunch will be at one of the local trattorias, just off the Piazza del Popolo. The afternoon is free to enjoy at your own leisure. Dinner will be held at the hotel before attending a performance at Teatro Rossini, one of the 3 venues used during the festival.

Day 8 Pesaro Urbino (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) In the morning before the tour on Urbino we will visit Cheese Factory Val D'Apsa which produce famous and delicious Italian cheese Caciotta di Urbino. You can observe the various phases of processing milk into cheese and learn about its history. At the end of the visit all of our guests are pleasantly surprised to have seen with their own eyes the extraordinary production of this cheese.
After an organised lunch which will be enjoyed in traditional Osteria in Urbino, we explore the land once ruled by the medieval lords of Montefeltro. We visit the center of Urbino, one of Italy’s fascinating towns of the Renaissance, also the birthplace of Raphael. The group will enjoy a conducted tour of the magnificent Ducal Palace which houses the Galleria Nazionaledelle Marche, with its precious paintings by Piero della Francesca, Tiziano, Paolo Uccello and Raphael.

Day 9 Pesaro/Mondavio (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Today we visit Mondavio, a medieval village dominated by its magnificent fortress. The fortress of Mondavio is one of the finest examples of well-preserved fortification. The internal rooms are still used as exhibition spaces for display of armoury and as a wax museum. Then you visit the local winery and taste their wine production with a splendid view on the Marches hills. Lunch at the traditional fish restaurant on the sea shore.
In the afternoon you will have time to relax. Later we will have an early dinner at the hotel before our second opera performance in Pesaro.

Day 10 Pesaro (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast, we travel for tasting of extravergine olive oil in Cartoceto, to a family-run oil mill and where you will have guided visit with the owner to the ancient olive tree grove where there is the possibility to see hundreds years old trees. Following visit to the mill and explanation of the pressing process. After lunch with a tipical products and precious olive oil of Cartoceto, we travel back to Pesaro. For the final night of our opera and food tour, there will be a special farewell dinner in a famous restaurant in Pesaro.

Day 11 Pesaro (Breakfast) The tour officially ends. You will be accompanied by your  tour leader to the to the airport (o train station) and assisted with check-in formalities to board your flight home.