Fontana Del Papa

I would like to first of all thank you for your books. We used one of them to travel Italy with my 73 year old mother and my sister as a retirement trip for me. We used your book on a daily basis to plan where we would like to travel and had the time of our life.

One of the places we would like to recommend is Fontana del Papa B and B in Tolfa, Italy. It is a very picturesque place. Built in an Olive grove on a hillside there are beautiful views of the country side. The home is very historical which adds to the experience. The staff provides outstanding service and is friendly and accomadating.

We took cooking classes that were outstanding. We enjoyed creating many fabulous meals and then eating with other guests at their large dining room table in front of the beautiful fireplace. The cooking instructors were friendly and a lot of fun to work with. Their knowledge of cooking was five star!!

The family is very friendly and sees that everyone is happy and entertained. Assuntina works very hard to make sure everything runs smoothly. This is a must see, I would love to live there!!! Anyone visiting will take home a memory that is unforgettable.

We did not know what to expect when we booked this B&B for Christmas. We were delighted at the beauty of this place and the wonderful food!

Spending Christmas in an Italian countryside 16th century farmhouse was a risky proposition. Like so many other Americans, the holidays are usually a time that we spend with family, enjoying the food and traditions that we cherish. This year, we decided that it might be fun to try something new. With our grown children’s blessing to ’go and have a great time’, we ventured to a small Italian town situated between Rome and Florence, high up in the hills of ancient Etruria, Italy. The results were extraordinary.

Claudio and Assuntina Pierotti, owners of ’Fontana del Papa’, along with their children, Luca, Emma and Andrea, welcomed us like members of their family and immediately we felt at home.

Our suite included a very large and beautifully appointed bedroom, complete with a romantic fireplace, four poster bed with delicious soft down quilts, beautiful bed linens, unbelievable paintings by a gifted local artist; a sitting room with a comfortable sofa, club chair, armoire, and table filled with books describing the region and all of its history. We felt as if we had gone back in time, but with all of the comforts of today!

Each day proved better than the last. Fontana del Papa offered cooking classes by a local woman, a culinary genius, who patiently and lovingly showed us step by step how to create true Italian feasts with simple preparation and a few essential ingredients. One of those ingredients is the olive oil produced from the hundreds of olive trees that embrace their landscape and lend a sense of tranquility to the countryside.

Claudio, a sommelier, offered us expert tutorials on the essentials of knowing good wine from ’not so good’ wine and each lesson ended with a wine tasting of many of Claudio’s finest collection.

During the day we took trips to surrounding towns, like Tarquinia, steeped in Etruscan history predating ancient Rome. The journeys included lively conversations with Claudio, a knowledgeable historian, with a wonderful sense of humor.

In the evenings when we returned to Fontana del Papa, we found a fire burning in the fireplace and the smells of culinary miracles coming from ’la cucina’.

This year we gave ourselves the best gift ever, the trip of a lifetime in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The added blessing was sharing it with this extraordinary family who will remain in our hearts forever - a risk that paid off “molto grande”.

We followed this initial trip with a longer second stay at Fontana del Papa of ten days that included both Christmas and Hew Years. We rented a car at Fiumicino and found our way to the Casa – having a vehicle enabled us to visit nearby places like Lago Bracciano, Montefiascone, Bolsena and a day trip to Orvieto but always returning in the evening to our home away from home in the land of our ancestors. Whoever said you can never go back had not visited Fontana del Papa and met these wonderful people. We will return next year.