PASTA-CADABRA!

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta” said world-renowned Italian film director Federico Fellini. Add a touch of wizardry to your Roman experience and unlock the secrets behind this delicious treat on a hands-on pasta-making class.

Meet your private driver outside your accommodation in Rome and relax on the ride to Castel Gandolfo. An all-time favourite with city dwellers wishing to escape from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, Castel Gandolfo is a small town located in the Alban Hills south-east of Rome, famous for being the popes’ former summer retreat. Here visitors will find quaint cobbled streets lined with artisan shops, a Baroque church designed by Bernini and charming eateries with hillside seating on the slopes overlooking the lake below. In one of these restaurants, founded in 1882 and run by the same family for four generations, the wonders of pasta will be unveiled.

Some believe the discovery of pasta belongs to the 13th century when Marco Polo introduced noodles to Italy upon returning from one of his trips to China. However, according to historians the origins of pasta date much further back and can be retraced to ancient Etruscan and Greek civilizations who inhabited central and southern Italy in the 4th century BC. The Greek terms làganon and makària, from which the words lasagna and maccheroni derive, attest to pasta’s ancient etymology. We know prominent ancient Romans such as Cicero and Horace were pasta lovers and an ancient cook book whose recipes are ascribed to 1st century AD gastronomy expert and chef Apicius include instructions on how to prepare a dish with lagana. Although the origins of this speciality are wrapped in the mists of time its magical effects on today’s eaters are no mystery to Sophia Loren who once stated: “What you see I owe to pasta”. Indeed home-made pasta all’uovo has played an important role in forging Italy’s beauties.

This class features traditional dishes, such as fettuccine, ravioli and gnocchetti. Under the guidance of your instructor, you will get to know about regional culinary traditions, try out infallible techniques and learn tricks you can use to bewitch your friends back home at the dinner table. After the lesson tuck into the meal you just prepared, washed down with local wine.

In the afternoon, enjoy a leisurely walk in the picturesque town of Castel Gandolfo before returning to your accommodation in Rome.