For many of us, beauty and Italy are synonymous. And at Esperienza, our founding vision was to connect with and sustain all the aspects of the beauty of Italy in a way that enlivens and uplifts, uniting travelers and hosts. This is our Why.
But beyond that, we believe that the genuine experience of another culture can change your state of mind.
Meet the language guide bringing Italian to life for our students, Giulia Massetti. Giulia is fueled by a belief that language is a bridge that connects people, and that learning to say something in another tongue is a step toward seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. That understanding drew her into teaching and shapes the warm and generous way she coaxes others to learn Italian.
Esperienza was not born overnight. Rather, it is the result of years of searching for an honest and enriching alternative way of traveling to Italy… conceived with the noble goal of bringing new energy to beautiful, culturally rich villages in Romagna that were suffering from population loss. Our mission aimed to bring economic vitality to these treasured yet fragile places. We hoped that, like the butterfly effect, a small shift—, drawing even a fraction of the visitors away from Italy’s well-known and over-trodden destinations—might ripple outward into something bigger.
Massimo Bonavita, the former senator from Cesena, Italy, ended his last battle against injustice in July 2016. And while he moved to a different dimension, his passion for life, his spirited presence, and his profound affection for his native Romagna continued to make a difference. Indeed, sharing the Romagna which Massimo loved with his American friends is the idea from which Esperienza was conceived by his former spouse, Anna.
With Esperienza’s “Living the Language” programs, language takes hold by engaging the senses, having meaningful exchanges with locals, and diving into the culture. We find that the Italian language isn’t something to master, but to enter into, messy, social, alive. Rather than focusing on drills, language is introduced through experience. The point is not perfection. It’s participation!
Saint Francis guides us toward a different, more conscious way of life - protecting all sentient life forms, sharing with the underprivileged, caring for the most vulnerable, savoring beauty wherever we find it, and building communities in peace. Perhaps too much of a dream? Recent days have proved we desperately need it.
Meet Susy Patrito, the heart of our culinary journeys in Emilia-Romagna. Susy has dedicated more than three decades to the art of meaningful travel, immersing travelers in culture and community far beyond typical tourism. Today, Susy guides Esperienza guests with a passion for the culinary and cultural treasures of Romagna, the power of meaningful connection, and a focus on care for travelers and the people and places they visit.
What the UNESCO announcement about Italian cuisine means to us, and to the world
In December, Italy celebrated an announcement by UNESCO. Italian cuisine is an intangible cultural heritage. Not just a dish. Not just an ingredient. The entirety of Italian cuisine.
Who is UNESCO? What is meant by the label “intangible cultural heritage?” And why is this announcement important?
Thanks to our partners in Italy and St. Paul, Twin Citians will soon have a rare opportunity to dive into the heart of true Italian cuisine — not just to taste it, but to learn it from the masters themselves.
This March, Cooks of Crocus Hill welcomes Casa Artusi to its cooking school to share the culture, techniques and recipes behind Italy’s beloved home-cooked dishes. This isn’t just cooking—it’s a cultural journey into the soul of the only national cuisine recognized by UNESCO for its contributions to the world.
Traditions are a ray of light in the darkest of days, as if to remind us that our hope is always concrete, daily, and domestic — and that we create it with our own hands, together. At this time of the year all over Italy there are handmade presepi (Nativity scenes) and in every kitchen in Romagna, families are making cappelletti in brodo, the symbol of Natale.
The formal recognition of Italian cuisine by UNESCO for its cultural legacy to humanity was announced just a couple of days ago. It made news around the world, and a big celebration is in order, especially during this holiday season.
As for me, there is no cuisine like the Italian! My appreciation for it has roots deep in my past, and it has the faces of extraordinary people I was fortunate to meet….
Exhilarated and grateful—that’s how we feel upon completing six exceptional fall tours in Italy. We’re excited about the experiences we’ve had and will soon share with other travelers. And we are grateful to all the people who made these tours a success, from the great people who entrusted us with their vacation days, to our dedicated guides and the Italians who gave us an authentic look at their lives. We enjoyed culinary and hiking adventures, immersive language learning, and our first-ever Sicily pilot trip. They all reflected the heart of Esperienza—authentic connection, discovery and joy in unexpected details.
On the first day of Esperienza’s In the Steps of St. Francis springtime trek through Emilia Romagna, I began to question my training. My feet pounded. My breathing grew deeper. Then we stopped at an ancient monastery. As we admired its crumbling courtyard, the caretaker emerged from a low stone doorway bearing a tray of cookies and bottles of wine. I was revived.
On the final full day of the In the Steps of St. Francis tour, our group gathered in a private room around a large table at the Michelin-star restaurant Da Gorini. We were there to celebrate our shared achievement—hiking 75 miles over 5 days—with an eight-course meal. We met the charming chef. The food was astoundingly clever and delicious. But what stays with me most is the laughter, easy conversation, and the realization that we had become our own warmhearted community.
“I couldn’t have made this hike without you,” one of us said.
On a recent summer evening in the charming town of Forlimpopoli, Esperienza founder Anna Bonavita was presented with the Marietta Ad Honorem award by the distinguished Casa Artusi Foundation, on behalf of Esperienza. The award recognizes Esperienza’s promotion of small Italian villages among Americans, through our immersion tours dedicated to the appreciation of Italian cuisine and its rural roots.
“For me art is a space where shame has no place. Only by leaving shame and other powerful negative emotions behind can I talk to others in a powerful way.” — Fiorenza Pancino
This is the credo of Fiorenza Pancino, the 2024 Esperienza artist in residence from Italy. She was born near Venice, but has lived and worked in the city of Faenza* in Emilia-Romagna for over 20 years. She is deeply passionate about ceramics, which she says — not unlike her — is sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. However, she also uses other media, such as videos, photography and materials, like paper and fabric, in her artistic endeavors.
“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.”
—Pico Iyer
Wise words from the famous essayist Pico Iyer.
I recently took the “In the Steps of St. Francis” tour with Esperienza, and I feel, to borrow Iyer’s word, extremely invigorated.
Our small group hiked from one spectacular hilltop town to the next, tracing ancient trails through the Apennines. It was a journey through Emilia-Romagna on foot—the way countless humans traveled before us. With each step, I felt more connected to the land, its people, and curiously, to myself. Moving slowly—with trekking poles in hand instead of phones—I noticed more, reflected more, felt more.
In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite you to enjoy the poems below, shared by Luigi Cappella in our online event in March.
When I began imagining Esperienza in 2017, I consulted a friend of mine who was an expert on small business development. He thought the non-profit would have no future because only people like me want to go to rural Italy. And in his opinion, there were very few of us…
Seven years later, there is small but growing community of curious, caring, compassionate people who are embracing a new way of traveling. Not only do they want to stay in touch and come back to Romagna, they are inspired to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.
