Throng

Renee Wright continues her trip around Italy and visits an Italian cooking school just North of Rome.

“Fontana del Papa” is a live-in cooking school in a restored 16th century farmhouse, run by Claudio Pierotti, Assuntina Antonacci and their family. Ten years ago, the farmhouse at Fontana del Papa sat in a state of ruin.

The house, located about an hour away from Rome at the top of a hill surrounded by beautiful Italian countryside, was uninhabited and had no electricity.

The building looked like it was barely standing. Claudio and Assuntina have restored the farmhouse, preserving the structure’s traditional character by keeping the terracotta floors, vaulted ceilings and wooden beams, but installing modern kitchen facilities for the cooking school.

The produce used at the school is picked fresh from the Fontana del Papa garden and the organic extra virgin olive oil is from Claudio and Assuntina’a own olive grove. Renee said that as well as the main cooking lessons, Fontana del Papa also offered pasta-making demonstrations and wine-tasting.

“The farmhouse has an amazing amount of history and character about it, but still manages to feel like a family home, which is just lovely. It is the full-on Italian food and wine experience, not to mention an exceptionally nice place to stay.”

UNITED TRAVEL GETAWAY, Tuesday 13th November at 7:30pm