Perillo Tours to Offer Exclusive Culinary & Cultural Tours of Italy Selected in Cooperation With Slow Food Italia

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In April 2011, Perillo Tours will launch their exclusive culinary and cultural tours of Italy selected in cooperation with Slow Food Italia, introducing two itineraries to four regions in Italy: 12 days to Piedmont & Italian Riviera, and 13 days to Tuscany & Umbria.  These tours, in line with Slow Food's commitment to protecting traditional and sustainable quality foods, will focus on the local food and beverage products of each of the regions. Pricing for its two tour itineraries, which collectively have 12 departures between June 17 and Oct. 21, 2011, ranges from $4,290 to $4,590 per person, double.

As these tours are created with respect to the Slow Food Italia approach, guests will have the unique opportunity to sample several Slow Food Presidia products - high-quality, traditional foods and beverages consistent with Slow Food's concept of sustainable agriculture ("good, clean, fair") that are at risk of "extinction" - and other local delicacies from recommended producers. Guests will also be eating at restaurants which have been included in the OsterieD'Italia Slow Food Guide, and have a chance to visit Slow Food Earth Markets, which is where small-scale producers and farmers can sell their products directly to consumers.

Highlights include:

• Barolo vineyards & Barbaresco hills, the Montebore cheese, and Monterosso al Mare anchovies (Piedmont & Italian Riviera);
• Garfagna Biroldo (blood sausage), Orbetello Bottarga (salted fish roe), Carmignano dried figs, and Pienza Pecorino cheese (Tuscany & Umbria).

During the tours, participants will not only discover delightful food and wines but also the most interesting art, history, culture and natural landscapes of the regions, from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the Duomo Cathedral in Turin where the Holy Shroud is kept, and UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Cinque Terre, the Gulf of Poets, and San Gimignano as examples.

Group tours range from 10 to 25 people, comfortably ensconced in deluxe, state-of-the-art luxury motor coaches. Single supplements are available. Perillo Tours also offers its guests the option to extend their stay by arriving early or departing late. Alternatively, individual trips can be booked through ItalyVacations.com for travel at any time of year. For more information, please visit: www.perillotours.com/slowfood/

The prices include all costs aside from gratuity for the guides and airline flights: arrival and departure airport transfers in Italy; all accommodations in first-class hotels; a daily buffet breakfast, lunches and dinners at "OsterieD'Italia" typical Slow Food Italia restaurants; meals based on traditional regional dishes and wines; a Slow Food Italia welcome at the hotel; tastings of Slow Food wines and Presidia products; one cooking lesson dedicated to the region's cuisine; one Slow Food Italia gift; one Slow Food – Terra Madre presentation kit; entrance fees to all churches and museums; professional tour directors, enogastronomic experts and licensed local guides; baggage handling for the full duration of the tour; hotel taxes, hotel service charges and all tips for hotel and restaurant personnel.

Reservations, brochures and information can be obtained from travel agents and Perillo Tours, telephone (800) 431-1515; web site: www.perillotours.com.

SOURCE Perillo Tours