Did you know there is a fenomenal little village just half hour from Pisa and Livorno where you can enjoy artisanal pasta, delicious prosciutto and salami & a top-notch extra virgin olive oil? Let us take you to the town of plenty…

This tour is ideal for gourmet visitors to Tuscany, curious to really learn why Italian food is so special. Meet our local experienced food guide at a convenient meeting point and reach a tiny hilltop village surrounded by olive groves and orchards of cherry trees. The introduction to the day will range from some historical background to the description of a typical tiny village in the countryside. You will see how locals live and why they choose to stay in such a peculiar context.

The day starts with the visit to a beautiful and historical mini pasta factory, still making use of traditional methods for making their spaghetti, penne and other pasta formats. It is a family run business that recently celebrated 100 years of activity and that is incredibly expanding their market of gourmands across the whole globe. You will learn why their pasta is so peculiar and all the reasons of their great success. Of course you will then taste it and have plenty of opportunities to buy it in town.

The guided visit to the town continues with an access to a panoramic medieval castle, which is still perfectly preserved regardless of its 9 centuries of age. It is a castle once used to maintain power in the area and today used as a museum and as a venue for historical events. Your guide will show you some spectacular views from its balconies and will lead you for a 30-minutes visit of great interest. Please, note that there is a staircase to the castle which is not ideal for people with mobility issues.

Another main focus of the day is the typical local art of seasoning meats. A butcher’s shop is a sort of institution in an Italian village and you will have the opportunity to visit one. It will be an introduction to the world of prosciutto, salami, pancetta and other delicious cold meats, which you often find on a local table. At the end of the visit to the butcher’s you will enjoy a first part of your lunch with a platter of great delicacies accompanied by some bread.

The visit to the village is completed by an unforgettable lunch at one of the little bistros in town. Here you have the chance to taste the local pasta and fully understand why locals love it so much! You will taste 2 kinds of pasta with different toppings served after a little appetizer of local cheeses.

In the afternoon, you will follow your guide for less than 30 minutes to a beautiful location in the middle of the countryside. The place is a local olive oil mill, one of the typical venues where local farmers bring their olives for extracting olive oil during the olive harvest. Here you will learn a lot of stories about the features of a great extra virgin olive oil and the methods of extraction of this precious “fruit juice”. Your guide, who is also an olive oil sommelier, will show you how to taste oils and how to recognize a great EVO from a commercial one. It will be a miniseminar on the secrets of extra virgin olive oil before you taste some locally produced oils in a little snack.

All through the day you will have plenty of opportunities to buy the local produce you will be tasting. You will never be the same consumer after that!