Welcome to our newest Itinerary for Poggio Verde! With this new trip we wish to accommodate our most exacting, health-conscious travelers, those wishing to enjoy the delights of the lakes, pre-alp beauty, outstanding dining and cultural offerings, all with healthy food and life-style regimen that will have you coming home healthy and energized! Please note: optional golfing days can be added to this itinerary, the choice is up to you!
Breakfast: This meal is served in the main dining room, buffet style, come and go as you please, beginning with coffee and herbal tea available every day from 7:00 am. Our breakfast chef Maura arrives at 6:30am daily and you are free to try to get a cup even earlier! Offerings include a daily fresh baked coffee cake, coffee and tea, fruit juice, fresh fruit, an egg of your choice, yoghurt, muesli, ham and cheese.
Aperitif: fresh juices and extractions with healthy hors d’oeuvres begin at 7 pm in the villa living room.
Dinner: This meal is served in the main dining room in the villa.
Snacks: Fruit, cookies, yogurt and crackers are available all day in the kitchen. Help yourself!
Day 1: Arrival and Montevecchia
Arrival at Poggio Verde around 12:00. We will unpack, put suitcases in the deposit room, and receive a villa and grounds tour. At 1:00 we will head out for a tasty lunch at our favorite farm-to-table Giovanna Passeri agriturismo. Weather permitting, we’ll take a walk in scenic Montevecchia. Then we’ll head back to the villa for centrifuged fresh juices and our first dinner together prepared by Mara Difino, our wonderful in-house chef whose selections over the next days will cover the best of Italian regional cooking.
Day 2: Lago Maggiore: Stresa and Isola Bella
After breakfast, we will travel to Stresa around 9:00, a gorgeous little town along Lago Maggiore. We will enjoy a lakefront walk and shopping in the town. Lunch will take place at Villa Aminta restaurant, member of The Leading Hotels of the World, with its luxurious dining room from which you will admire an amazing view of the lake. After lunch, our boatman will take us to Isola Bella (Beautiful Isle), home of the breathtaking Palazzo Borromeo. We will have a personal guided tour of the palace and do some shopping on the island. Dinner back at Poggio.
Day 3: Ancient Hill-town of Bergamo
After breakfast, we will leave Poggio Verde at 9:00 and head to Bergamo. We will enjoy a guided tour of this beautiful hilltop town. Then, we will travel to Fonteno, one of the most enchanting places near Iseo Lake. Lunch will take place at Ristorante Panoramico offering traditional but creative local cuisine. After that, we will explore Monte Isola, a little pearl of Iseo Lake. At the end of this day, we will return to Poggio Verde for a simple but delicious evening meal.
Day 4: Poggio Verde
After breakfast, you will enjoy your “home”, the fine estate of Poggio Verde. After a morning walk around the park of the villa, we will visit the romantic 11th century church St. Salvatore. For lunch we will head to a beautiful Michelin-starred restaurant, Pierino Penati, set in the verdant hills of Brianza. Its cuisine is very creative, prepared with top-quality fresh ingredients and always focusing on the local culinary traditions. In the afternoon we will rest at the Villa and those who wish to will take a shopping expedition to nearby Oggiono. At 7:30 Mara will serve our juices, hors d’oeuvres and dinner.
Day 5: Bellagio
After our usual tasty breakfast, around 9:30 our minibus will take us to Bellagio, The Pearl of the Lake.
We will enjoy a tour of this charming little town and do some shopping. At lunch time we will head to Alle Darsene di Loppia restaurant, our favorite restaurant in Bellagio. The menu will be simple but sophisticated. After lunch, we will stroll through the stunning lake-side gardens of Villa Melzi, with its interesting botanic, artistic and cultural patrimony. In the late afternoon, we will be driven back to Poggio Verde for our Italian fresh fruit and herb aperitifs and dinner.
Day 6: Milan
After breakfast, our driver will take us to Milan at around 8:30, where we will begin a guided tour that includes the Duomo and Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper with a marvelous guide we have found who always has something interesting to say about Milan’s history. Lunch will be served in the Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant Joia, Gretchen’s favorite restaurant in Milan. After lunch we will continue our visit with La Scala Theater. After the visit there are a few alternatives like free shopping or Castello Sforzesco or Piazza Gae Aulenti. Dinner back at the villa. This will be your last dinner with our chef Mara!
Day 7: Departure
After our last Italian breakfast together, and heartfelt goodbyes, our driver will take you to Malpensa Airport.
For more information, or to sign up, or to schedule a week for your own Healthy Food trip, e-mail Gretchen