Program Directed by
Andrew Manzella
If you have questions or would like to talk further about this program, please get in touch!
Italy
Inside the Farm to Table Movement
From the farms, fields, and olive groves to the dinner table, food traditions are the beautiful beating heart of Italian identity. During this student travel program in Italy, get a firsthand look at how inspiring individuals have built careers out of a passion for food. Together with fellow food lovers, immerse yourself in Italian life and the country’s storied food culture. Expand your understanding of sustainable food systems as you sow, harvest, cook, and savor your way through Italy.
- Highlights
• Meet chefs and restaurateurs at trattorie and acclaimed ristoranti
• Join the celebratory feasts surrounding Siena’s annual Palio horse race
• Learn the secrets of pecorino cheese-making and olive oil production
• Prepare a multi-course farewell feast for your new Italian amici
• Join the celebratory feasts surrounding Siena’s annual Palio horse race
• Learn the secrets of pecorino cheese-making and olive oil production
• Prepare a multi-course farewell feast for your new Italian amici
“The highlights of my trip were working on the farm and in the kitchen. I also enjoyed meeting new people and being immersed in the culture. I gained skills that can be put to use on a farm, in a kitchen, and traveling in general.”
— Daniel D., Easton, PA
Featured
Expert
An Expert joins each Career program for a portion of the itinerary, lending their insights and perspectives to the experience.
Marco and Chiara are the owners of Pulicaro, an agritourism farm and restaurant nestled in the heart of Tuscia in central Italy. After completing their studies at the University of Florence (Marco holds a degree in ecology) and the University of Pavia...
Marco and Chiara are the owners of Pulicaro, an agritourism farm and restaurant nestled in the heart...
Itinerary
This itinerary represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.
Departure — Travel Day
Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in New York, and fly together to Rome, Italy. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Lazio — 5 days
Upon arrival in Rome, travel by chartered bus to Pulicaro, a beautifully restored, family-run, 18th-century organic farm located on the provincial border of Umbria and Lazio. Your hosts, Marco and Chiara, moved to the Italian countryside from Milan in 2001 and began reviving the farm according to sustainable principles. Today, Pulicaro boasts over 2,000 olive trees, a fruit orchard, free-range chickens and geese, and acres of gardens filled with heirloom tomatoes, onions, garlic, pumpkins, and a dizzying array of other fruits and vegetables.
Participate in hands-on farm rotations, putting the principles of sustainable agriculture into practice as you care for animals, plant, tend, harvest, can, and cook. In the afternoons, take survival Italian lessons from our hosts; learn basic knife skills or restaurant plating techniques; discuss food policy, movements, and trends; or relax under the shade of one of Pulicaro’s many mulberry trees, at nearby Lake Bolsena, or in the piazza of a Tuscan hill town. Experience even more local tastes on day trips to the farms of local producers. Spend some evenings preparing dinner together and learning how to balance flavors and present foods like a professional kitchen staff. , and other evenings checking out restaurants in the cliffside town of Orvieto.
Siena — 3 days
Head north to the unparalleled beauty of Siena to explore the city’s bustling market and restaurant scene. In search of new ingredients, skills, and knowledge, delve into Italian food history, sample dishes in secret neighborhood trattorie, hand-stretch pasta in a cooking class, peruse a farmers’ market in Siena, and visit the Castello di Spannocchia for a behind-the-scenes look at efforts to preserve an ancient line of Tuscan pig. Experience the living history of the Palio horse race through citywide feasts, celebrations, and parades.
Note: The July 9 departure will visit Siena but will not be present for the Palio festival.
Lazio & Final Feast — 5 days
Return to Pulicaro, baskets and bags loaded with fresh ingredients, and spend the final days of your trip to Italy honing the menu for and cooking a multi-course cena finale, the final feast. Invite your family, and share and celebrate all you have learned with new Italian friends at this delicious outdoor banquet on the last evening of the program.
Return — Travel Day
Fly from Rome to New York with your group and a leader, then continue on to your final destination. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Itinerary
This itinerary represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.
Departure — Travel Day
Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in New York, and fly together to Rome, Italy. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Lazio — 5 days
Upon arrival in Rome, travel by chartered bus to Pulicaro, a beautifully restored, family-run, 18th-century organic farm located on the provincial border of Umbria and Lazio. Your hosts, Marco and Chiara, moved to the Italian countryside from Milan in 2001 and began reviving the farm according to sustainable principles. Today, Pulicaro boasts over 2,000 olive trees, a fruit orchard, free-range chickens and geese, and acres of gardens filled with heirloom tomatoes, onions, garlic, pumpkins, and a dizzying array of other fruits and vegetables.
Participate in hands-on farm rotations, putting the principles of sustainable agriculture into practice as you care for animals, plant, tend, harvest, can, and cook. In the afternoons, take survival Italian lessons from our hosts; learn basic knife skills or restaurant plating techniques; discuss food policy, movements, and trends; or relax under the shade of one of Pulicaro’s many mulberry trees, at nearby Lake Bolsena, or in the piazza of a Tuscan hill town. Experience even more local tastes on day trips to the farms of local producers. Spend some evenings preparing dinner together and learning how to balance flavors and present foods like a professional kitchen staff. , and other evenings checking out restaurants in the cliffside town of Orvieto.
Siena — 3 days
Head north to the unparalleled beauty of Siena to explore the city’s bustling market and restaurant scene. In search of new ingredients, skills, and knowledge, delve into Italian food history, sample dishes in secret neighborhood trattorie, hand-stretch pasta in a cooking class, peruse a farmers’ market in Siena, and visit the Castello di Spannocchia for a behind-the-scenes look at efforts to preserve an ancient line of Tuscan pig. Experience the living history of the Palio horse race through citywide feasts, celebrations, and parades.
Note: The July 9 departure will visit Siena but will not be present for the Palio festival.
Lazio & Final Feast — 5 days
Return to Pulicaro, baskets and bags loaded with fresh ingredients, and spend the final days of your trip to Italy honing the menu for and cooking a multi-course cena finale, the final feast. Invite your family, and share and celebrate all you have learned with new Italian friends at this delicious outdoor banquet on the last evening of the program.
Return — Travel Day
Fly from Rome to New York with your group and a leader, then continue on to your final destination. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Featured
Leaders
Meet some of our featured leaders. Please note that these may not be your leaders for the program.
Featured
Leaders
Meet some of our featured leaders. Please note that these may not be your leaders for the program.
What to Expect
Review specific program expectations here. For more general information:
Program Theme
Food & Culture: There are countless careers that touch food systems and foodways, and with its unparalleled food culture, Italy is the perfect place to pursue your passion and explore possible career paths. Perhaps your goal is a future as a food producer or farmer, a chef or restaurateur, a food writer, or a food and farm policymaker; or maybe you want to get a deeper understanding of food systems and sustainability. This program provides hands-on, immersive experiences that encourage thoughtful engagement with food-related issues—sustainable and organic farming practices, small- and large-scale farming, and more—as well as hands-on, applicable culinary skills that you can take home to your own kitchen and community.
The Full Food Cycle
This student program in Italy explores the entire Farm-to-Table process, with a good deal of focus placed on the stages that precede cooking. In addition to participating in cooking classes and preparing meals frequently for the group, you should come prepared and excited to engage actively in supervised rotations on a working farm and explore the many non-culinary processes associated with food production. We explore nearly all aspects of Italian cuisine, and ask you to have an open mind and willingness to try new foods (that are within your own dietary guidelines), to respect the culinary traditions we encounter and their practitioners, and to bring your enthusiasm to break a sweat in pursuit of this hands-on experience.
Independent Project
Pursue an independent project and explore an aspect of local culture of particular interest to you—collect recipes from the people you meet, apprentice a gelato-maker, dive deeper into the art and science of baking, or create a food-criticism blog that you can continue after you return home.
Language Practice
Proficiency in Italian is not required. However, if you study Italian, you will have opportunities to practice while communicating with local people. If you don’t speak Italian you will have the opportunity to learn some basic language skills.
Technology
To encourage full engagement and immersion in the Putney travel experience, we limit the use of cell phones and other devices on our High School programs. Students are allowed to use their phones in transit to the program, and keep their devices throughout. During in-country orientation, leaders will lock phones with a code, unlocking them for the second half of the program. During the tech-free portion of the program, students have the opportunity for a weekly call home according to a pre-arranged schedule. For more details, please see our FAQ.
Physical Activity
This is a physically active summer program. Working in gardens and with animals, exploring the streets of Siena on foot, or enjoying an afternoon hike are all activities in which you might participate during this program. You do not need to be at peak fitness to participate, but it is important that you have a desire to be physically active, and that you are excited about trying all activities.
Accommodations
We stay at historic Italian farms throughout the program, in renovated buildings with 2-4 students in each room.
Meals
We begin each day with a simple Italian breakfast at our accommodations. We work together to prepare many of our lunches and dinners at the farm we call home in Lazio, and otherwise find small restaurants or hit the markets to purchase food for a picnic. Italians enjoy their meals and take time to gather with family and friends at the table, eat slowly, and enjoy their company.
What to Expect
Review specific program expectations here. For more general information:
Program Theme
Food & Culture: There are countless careers that touch food systems and foodways, and with its unparalleled food culture, Italy is the perfect place to pursue your passion and explore possible career paths. Perhaps your goal is a future as a food producer or farmer, a chef or restaurateur, a food writer, or a food and farm policymaker; or maybe you want to get a deeper understanding of food systems and sustainability. This program provides hands-on, immersive experiences that encourage thoughtful engagement with food-related issues—sustainable and organic farming practices, small- and large-scale farming, and more—as well as hands-on, applicable culinary skills that you can take home to your own kitchen and community.
The Full Food Cycle
This student program in Italy explores the entire Farm-to-Table process, with a good deal of focus placed on the stages that precede cooking. In addition to participating in cooking classes and preparing meals frequently for the group, you should come prepared and excited to engage actively in supervised rotations on a working farm and explore the many non-culinary processes associated with food production. We explore nearly all aspects of Italian cuisine, and ask you to have an open mind and willingness to try new foods (that are within your own dietary guidelines), to respect the culinary traditions we encounter and their practitioners, and to bring your enthusiasm to break a sweat in pursuit of this hands-on experience.
Independent Project
Pursue an independent project and explore an aspect of local culture of particular interest to you—collect recipes from the people you meet, apprentice a gelato-maker, dive deeper into the art and science of baking, or create a food-criticism blog that you can continue after you return home.
Language Practice
Proficiency in Italian is not required. However, if you study Italian, you will have opportunities to practice while communicating with local people. If you don’t speak Italian you will have the opportunity to learn some basic language skills.
Technology
To encourage full engagement and immersion in the Putney travel experience, we limit the use of cell phones and other devices on our High School programs. Students are allowed to use their phones in transit to the program, and keep their devices throughout. During in-country orientation, leaders will lock phones with a code, unlocking them for the second half of the program. During the tech-free portion of the program, students have the opportunity for a weekly call home according to a pre-arranged schedule. For more details, please see our FAQ.
Physical Activity
This is a physically active summer program. Working in gardens and with animals, exploring the streets of Siena on foot, or enjoying an afternoon hike are all activities in which you might participate during this program. You do not need to be at peak fitness to participate, but it is important that you have a desire to be physically active, and that you are excited about trying all activities.
Accommodations
We stay at historic Italian farms throughout the program, in renovated buildings with 2-4 students in each room.
Meals
We begin each day with a simple Italian breakfast at our accommodations. We work together to prepare many of our lunches and dinners at the farm we call home in Lazio, and otherwise find small restaurants or hit the markets to purchase food for a picnic. Italians enjoy their meals and take time to gather with family and friends at the table, eat slowly, and enjoy their company.
A Day in the Life: Pulicaro
Due to the traveling nature of this student program abroad, each day is different. Here is a snapshot of a day at our host farm, Pulicaro.
- Morning
8:30am
Enjoy breakfast with your group
9:30am
Participate in farm rotations in the gardens and with the animals
- Afternoon
12:00pm
Break for lunch
1:00pm
Visit a goat farm to learn about (and taste) artisanal cheese
3:00pm
Cool off with a dip at a local swimming hole
5:00pm
Relax with some downtime on the farm
- Evening
7:00pm
Get a lesson in basic knife skills, then help prepare dinner
9:00pm
Share dinner on the farm, then visit Orvieto for gelato
A Day in the Life:
Pulicaro
Due to the traveling nature of this student program abroad, each day is different. Here is a snapshot of a day at our host farm, Pulicaro.
- Morning
8:30am
Enjoy breakfast with your group
9:30am
Participate in farm rotations in the gardens and with the animals
- Afternoon
12:00pm
Break for lunch
1:00pm
Visit a goat farm to learn about (and taste) artisanal cheese
3:00pm
Cool off with a dip at a local swimming hole
5:00pm
Relax with some downtime on the farm
- Evening
7:00pm
Get a lesson in basic knife skills, then help prepare dinner
9:00pm
Share dinner on the farm, then visit Orvieto for gelato
“The culture of the area lent itself to an understanding of the food. Tuscany was the ideal setting to fully appreciate the entire cycle of food and is a feast for all of the senses.”
—Stacy & Barry G., Hampstead, Quebec
Program Directed by
Andrew Manzella
If you have questions or would like to talk further about this program, please get in touch!
