10 Day Italian Getaway Highlights the Best of City and Coast

Experience the best of Italy with a ten day City and Coast Getaway that begins in the Eternal City with five nights at five-star Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, a former 19^th century Roman palazzo with 78 spacious rooms and suites featuring Baroque-inspired frescoed ceilings. Situated on a quiet street in one of Rome’s poshest neighborhoods, the hotel is within walking distance of some of the city’s best-known cultural landmarks and parks, including the Trevi Fountain, Villa Medici, and the Spanish Steps. Your itinerary will include foodie hotspots and private tours of the city’s rarely explored hidden gems.

Then, it’s on to Castello Di Semivicoli in Abruzzo to visit prestigious Masciarelli where you’ll enjoy tastings in the vineyards, cooking classes, boating, and more. Masciarelli was founded in 1981 and has become one of Italy’s most respected wineries. Based in San Martino sulla Marrucina in the province of Chieti, it is one of the most significant and thriving operations in the entire Central-Southern region of Italy. The winery currently offers 22 labels and 7 product lines, as well as extra virgin olive oil and other specialty products.

Rome highlights include:

• Visit to Coppedè, a micro-neighborhood full of alluring Art Nouveau architecture and Villa Torlonia, a park and villa once owned by the noble Torlonia family that was designed by Giuseppe Valadier in the early 1800s
• Private tour of the magnificent Renaissance palace of Villa Medici and its gardens.
• Roman Street Food Tour with Davvero Rome, featuring a combination of traditional to modern-day and inventive options.
• Hidden Rome Tour with ArcheoRunning, led by renaissance (wo)man Isabella Calidonna, art historian, certified tour guide and coach for Fidal (Italian Athletics Federation) and Coni (Italian National Olympic Committee).
• Visit to Villa Farnesina, the lavish home of wealthy Sienese banker Agostino Chigi and site of Raphael’s ceiling fresco with scenes from the marriage of Cupid and Psyche.
• Dinner of contemporary Roman cuisine using locally sourced ingredients at Settimo, the crown jewel of Sofitel Rome offering panoramic views of The Eternal City.

Then, its five nights in the Theatine Hills at Castello Di Semivicoli where you’ll be immersed in the beauty of the Abruzzo region and the unmistakable taste of its wines. Combining the authenticity and charm of an ancient patrician country home with the refinement of contemporary furnishings, accommodations at the Masciarelli’s wine resort include a Superior Suite with views of the vineyards, the Abruzzo mountain range, and the Adriatic coast.

Highlights include:

• Private dinner and wine tasting in the barrel room at Castello Di Semivicoli.
• Traditional Abruzzo cuisine cooking class to learn to make "chitarra" pasta.
• Visit to the Masciarelli winery and participation in harvest activities (if seasonally available).
• Tasting and dinner in the middle of the flagship Villa Gemma vineyard.
• Costa dei Trabocchi boat tour in the Adriatic Sea to see the historic fishing houses.
• Luxury sedan and driver on call to visit the beach, local villages, and historical castle and archeological site standouts in the region.
• Ceramic workshop with an experienced local artisan.
• Visit to former professional soccer player turned winemaker Luigi Valori’s organic vineyard in northern Abruzzo.

The 10-night City and Coast Getaway starts at €10,520 for 2 people, inclusive of private roundtrip transportation from Rome to Abruzzo. For more information or bookings, email h1312-re@sofitel.com. For more information on Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, visit https://sofitel.accor.com/hotel/1312/index.en.shtml#origin=sofitel. For more information on Masciarelli, visit https://www.masciarelli.it/en/.