The Infiorata in Genzano

Arrive at the airport and transfer to Rome. Check-in at the hotel, welcome aperitif and briefing about our weekly tour. At the end of our meeting, we will dinner in a typical Roman restaurant. Credits: Horst Bierau

In the historical centre of  Rome we will walk through the architecture and streets of one of the most visited cities in the world by artists and poets: via Margutta. We will then admire Caravaggio’s paintings on canvas kept in Santa Maria del Popolo and then cross the residential area once belonging to artists and poets. We will enjoy the places where the most famous scenes in “Vacanze Romane” were filmed. We will stop for some white pizza, freshly baked from one of the historic bakeries near Campo dei Fiori Square, and have coffee in an old cafè. In the early afternoon, we’ll move on to the Castelli Romani area and will stay in a nice and cozy farmhouse. Here we’ll meet Margherita, a Flower Master who will tell us the Infiorata's history. She will then show us the courtyards of the historical city center of Genzano di Roma, used for piking flowers (the so called "Speluccamento") in preparation of the Infiorata.  Dinner will be held at a typical restaurant in Genzano.

A chef will accompany us to do shopping in the shops of the old town of Frascati, to select the ingredients for a tasty seasonal menu. During an exclusive cooking-lesson we will be shown how to turn them into a gourmet lunch and we’ll also enjoy a wine tasting. And for dessert, a master ice-cream maker will illustrate the secrets of gourmet “gelato” . In the afternoon we will visit a winery in Frascati countryside and have a guided tasting. Back to the farmhouse and dinner. After dinner we will go see the preparatory drawings that are the basis of the floral paintings made for the Infiorata.

We will visit Nemi, enchanting village of the Castelli Romani. Here, together with an expert, we will visit the the centre with its artisan workshops and its peculiar Museum of the Roman Ships. At the end of the visit we will move on to the local restaurant, have traditional lunch with local produce. In the afternoon free time. After dinner, we will meet the Flower Master again and admire the ancient technique of laying the petals on the cobblestone and giving shape to the drawings.  

We will spend Sunday morning in complete relax at the farmhouse. In the late afternoon we will see the “Infiorata” along Via Livia. Dinner time.

We will visit Castel Gandolfo with its artisan shops, walk along the lake and admire the contemporary murals. We will visit the Pope Palace and the Pope Gardens by open bas. From here we will move on to Ariccia, where we will visit the village and enjoy our lunch in a “fraschetta”. We will then visit the sumptuous Palazzo Chigi. In Genzano we will witness the parade of the historical procession with traditional costumes and the ceremony of the so called “spallamento” (children racing on the flower petals). Dinner.

The seventh day will be dedicated to the visit of the Archaeological Park in Ostia Antica, one of the largest archaeological sites of imperial Rome. We'll be back in the late afternoon and will be free at dinner time. Credits: Horst Bierau

Departure.