Italy Tour Co has relaunched and expanded its culinary art tour experiences following a three-year hiatus due to COVID.

Join Australian-Italian chef Valerio Fantinelli and professional Italy-based tour guide Luca Rocconi for a deep dive into Italian food and heritage. It's not a just a taste of Italy, it's the full banquet! 

Their one, two and eight-day tours feature special experiences and idyllic locations not available to other tours thanks to Luca's connections, years of guiding experience and a passion for Italian history and culture.

Co-owner and guide Valerio said the tours were ideal for return visitors to Italy who were keen to further tuck into its rich culinary delights and cultural heritage.

“It's been a huge journey. My home catering and private dining clients were keen to immerse themselves further into Italian food and culture and experience the places my stories were from.

“In 2018 I reconnected with my cousin Luca in Italy who has been a tour guide for 25 years and we decided to combine our experiences to offer special itineraries designed to discover the roots of Italian history and culture, and authentic Italian food and traditions: exploring lesser known places, and creating some special experiences thanks to Luca's connections.

“We put a lot of work into it and started selling tours to clients from Australia, US, UK, and China in January 2020 … and then COVID hit.”

Three years later and Valerio and Luca decided to relaunch, adding one and two-day experiences, and refreshing the itineraries. Italy Tour Co's first tours will commence in May this year. 

“It's very emotional and a dream come true. We're super excited,” Valerio said.

Tour highlights include meeting two Tuscan princesses in the gardens of their castle which has one of Europe's most impressive wine collections; visiting the pope's summer holiday hideaway; and discovering an underground medieval basilica next to the Colosseum. 

Guests will be made an offer they can't refuse – shopping at Campo De' Fiore market and participating in a private cooking class in Marlon Brando's original Roman apartment on Tiberina Island.

Chef Valerio will have guests fishing on a boat off Capri, and eating their way through Rome's Trastevere and Jewish quarter tasting authentic roman local cuisine with flavours of fried artichokes, seasoned salami, the best pizza by the slice and homemade gelato. 

Tours commence May 2023 and prices for one day tours start at A$100 pp. Visit italytour.com.au to discover more.