What? No wheat, barley, or rye?  Believe or not, Da Vinci Capers is about to host its first “gluten-free” cultural adventure  in Italy this October!  A friend of Da Vinci Capers who owns a successful gluten-free food business called “Skinny Crisps” has convinced me that there are many people who would love to travel to Italy, the land of pasta, but are a little leery.  So, we decided to present a creative arts and cultural trip just for you - Da Vinci Capers ~ A Personal Renaissance Journey.

To be honest, there are not many Italian chefs who would take on the challenge to cook and serve gluten-free meals for a week and to offer a cooking course!  Chef Luca studied in a culinary school in Florence and has traveled the world to learn more about ingredients, spices and herbs.  He is a true artist in the kitchen.  Chef Luca  has worked with us in our adventures in Tuscany and practices sfumato, Leonardo da Vinci’s artistic signature and our lesson for the week – to  live  a life with an open mind and open heart.

Here’s the scoop – Da Vinci Capers is  not a tour.  What we do is offer you unusual experiences – moments that you would not be able to do on your own – with the best teachers we can find.  They know their craft, love working with adults and will inspire you.  No experience  is necessary.  We want you to escape your daily routine, spread your wings, spark a passion so you will return home with a renewed zest for life! Creative experiences for both right-brained and left-brained people, there is something for everyone:

One day you learn some Italian at the Koinè (so fun and helps us throughout the week), another day you will cook with  Chef Luca (scroll down), another Stefania Brandinelli (listed by “Elite Traveler” as Italy’s Up-and-Coming Artist”) will teach us drawing and sculpting at Peralta (famous studio of Fiore de Henriquez, and our golden nugget,  Julio (an Honorary Fellow, University of  Iowa), presents us with a bohemian creative writing moment.

In between our taste buds explode with a Slow Food style luncheon(honoring local foods and farmers) and a wine and oil tasting at the Fattoria Villa Maionchi. Even though we nest at the beautiful private Villa Boccella,  we will travel to Barga, a favorite hill town of Leonardo da Vinci’s.  Nick Kraczyna, a renown print-maker with etchings in the Uffizi Gallery Prints Collection, will offer a demonstration.  We will travel a short distance to Studio Sem, in Pietrasanta, the sculpting capital of the world.  By the end of the week, you will have a new appreciation for Italy, her arts and the culture through your personal experience.

To maximize learning, our group size is limited to 16 people.  To learn more, go to Da Vinci Capers ~ A Personal Renaissance Journey, or call Barbara at (303) 284-1383 or e-mail:  barb@davincicapers.com

Spread the word to your friends, networks and gluten-free organizations.  Hope to see you in bell’italia this fall!

Tags: Da Vinci Capers, Gluten-Free, Leonardo da Vinci, Lucca

This entry was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.