Our client’s testimonials

We toured this September with Sam and the crew to Sicily and stayed in the beautiful Villa Cariddi in Messina.

We were met at Catania and taken by private van to the Villa where we were warmly greeted by the crew.

The villa was magnificent with private rooms and en-suite in all the rooms. We dined outside in the evenings overlooking the Straits of Messina and across to the “toe” of Italy.

Sam, Venn, Jill and Grace guided us through the private cooking classes in the commercial kitchen in the Villa with all the food freshly purchased from the local markets.

We toured Mount Etna with Tom (our opera singing bus driver) & Gerry (our funny Sicilian tour guide) and later experienced a lovely wine and food tasting luncheon at the Gambino Winery. It is such an amazing place and to think of it being on the side of an active volcano made it awesome!

Our next day tour was to the Port of Syracuse where we went to the local fish and produce market. Our chef purchased the fresh food for us to prepare a seafood dish of our choosing for our lunch. We returned to the restaurant and had a cooking class in preparation for lunch.

Our other touring day was to Taormina where we visited the old town built at the top of the mountain overlooking the valleys and the “volcano”. Here we visited the Ancient Theatre of Taormina and then had a beautiful lunch overlooking the Mediterranean sea below.

Everybody enjoyed a private massage with our resident expert in Venn.It really helped get out the aches and pains and was very relaxing!

We really enjoyed our week with Sam and the crew in Sicily. Everything that we wanted was catered for. It was a sensational way of visiting and learning about the beautiful island of Sicily.

Thanks Sam!

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Linda and Karl

We’ve just come home from our lovely dinner with Liz and Ian, and much appreciate your kind gift of a bottle of Nero d’Avola – many thanks.

This is what we had in mind for our commentary re Itala:

‘We were one of the lucky couples who got to spend a week in September 2022 with Sam Fazio’s group at the villa from heaven, perched on a hilltop 15 km north of Taormina in Sicily.

The villa was exceptionally comfortable and well equipped, with very stylish furniture and artworks. The view over the Straits of Messina was stunning, best enjoyed in the beautiful infinity pool.

The week was a delicious blend of Sicilian food and wine and three day tours of Etna and its wines, Syracusa and Taormina. What impressed us most was Sam’s gentle attention to all our needs, and tutorship in the art of Sicilian cooking – we spent happy hours in the big kitchen, making gnocchi, caponata and other wonderful foods, always over a glass of wine or Sam’s magical Negroni concoction.

A few times we did the quite manageable walk down to the coast for a swim or coffee and pastries at the local pasticceria, then back up the hill, so there was never a moment of feeling confined to the villa precinct, beautiful though it was.

We had a terrific time, especially thanks to Sam, Jill and Venera and will be candidates for future weeks of Italian heaven with the Fazio entourage.

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Kate and Dennis’

Italy is amazing. Sicily is something else.

But the cooking tour with Sam was on a different level.

We waited 3 years to fulfill our dream of traveling with Sam and the experience was well worth the wait. The food, wine, cocktails by the pool and trips to Mt Etna, Syracuse and Taormina , were all part of a wonderful dream, only to be surpassed by the hospitality shown by Sam and his crew.

It was a trip of a lifetime and we highly recommend anyone joining future tours.

You will not be disappointed.

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Ian Henry and Liz Nuthall

Ahhh the Fazio experience! Where to begin?

Maybe with an aperol spritz because that’s how most nights began (or with a negroni or limoncello spritz). There was swimming (Mediterranean or infinity pool your choice), Mt etna, hilltop towns, ancient markets, Greek theatres, the birthplace of Archimedes.

There were ethereal facials leaving one completely relaxed. Oh, that’s right, there was the food! The food we cooked, the food that was cooked for us, the food we ate in restaurants. Ahh the food…pasta Norma, gnocchi, swordfish, tomatoes and melons as you have never tasted before, cannoli….Ahh the food. Above all there was camaraderie, fun and friendship.

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Kristin Allen

Enquire About This Tour

This tour is personally guided by Sam Fazio and his team, and promises to be an authentic Italian experience you’ll never forget. Availability is limited so please enquire about this tour using the form below.