Travel to Naples, Italy

Naples Trip “Land of Layers”

Stimulating, enriching, enchanting Naples - it's a whole world unto itself

Join art historian and founder of Wonderfeast, Giulia Bernardini, as we dive into the under-explored city of Naples and surrounding region of Campania. Feast on world-class museums and sites like the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Capodimonte, and archeological site of Herculaneum; discover Renaissance and Baroque churches bursting with treasure; and sample gastronomic delights from street food vendors to traditional osterie and innovative Michelin-starred restaurants. In addition, spend two days on the bucolic island of Ischia at a beachfront resort and enjoy a cooking class at a private home, take in dramatic views atop the island's castle, and relax in a stunning garden.

• Stay at the intimate Caruso Place Boutique & Wellness Suites, centrally located on Naples' bustling via Toledo and spend two nights on the island of Ischia at Hotel Terme Tritone, with its private thermal pools and beach access.

• Enjoy free time with the help of Giulia's hand picked food, shopping, art, and culture recommendations

• Explore optional literary and film recommendations culled by Giulia to expand your understanding of what you'll see.

• Share the experience with a small group of up to eleven like-minded, inquisitive explorers.

Learn about this land of fire, water, and myth

You're familiar with Rome, Florence, Venice but have you ever spent time in and around Naples? Find out what you've been missing!

Join Giulia for eight rich, art-, food-, and conversation-filled days. Discover world-class museums filled with sparkling ancient mosaics and lifelike sculptures, glistening oil paintings by high Renaissance and Baroque artists including Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, Mantegna, Parmigianino and many more, stroll along streets fronted by 17th-century palazziand down gritty alleys filled with street art and graffiti, indulge in rum baba and heavenly, light-as-a-feather pizza, and sip drinks in leafy piazze and verdant island gardens.

Our adventure will focus on the many layers of soil and time that compose the cosmopolitan port city of Naples and the surrounding region of Campania. In Naples, we'll learn about the city's millennial experience with external rule starting with the Greeks and Romans, through French Angevins and the Spanish Aragonese, the short-lived, locally-led Republic, and its years as a Bourbon capital in the 18th century. We will walk through maze-like vicoli lined with artisans' shops and climb up to sprawling monasteries and castles overlooking the Bay, enjoying the vista over and over again, each time dutifully saluting imposing Mount Vesuvius in the background.

A two-day stay at a seaside resort on the island of Ischia will offer a break from the visual, cultural, and gastronomic riches we'll have been enjoying on the mainland and will help us unwind as we take a cooking class and feast on new geographic and geological sights. A visit to Herculaneum will help us understand the region's rich past, which we'll reflect upon over a wine-tasting lunch at a nearby vineyard. And an outing to the awe-inspiring, sprawling royal palace at Caserta will contribute to capping our understanding of the extraordinarily vibrant and complex history of Naples and its people.

Join me for this unmissable experience. I look forward to seeing you at the banquet!

- Giulia