Knit on, Italy

  4 to 11 June, 2008
  $2700 per person, double occupancy
  $400 single supplement

Journey with us to the origins of many a yarn stash, northern Italy. Our group of maximum twelve people meets at Milan Malpensa airport where a motor coach will take us to the Italian "Wool Valley" of Biella, in Piedmont. Our hotels offer comfortable lodging and gracious space for knitting or crocheting together. You can take your first passegiata (stroll) or recover from your trip before we meet to learn about current trends in Italy and sample seasonal menu at the hotel’s restaurant.

The next day, we’ll visit the modern industrial complex that creates those scrumptious balls of yarn that are a joy to caress. The Wool Valley begins by rice fields but continues up into the hills toward the mountains that frame Biella.

A typical Biellese lunch will give you the energy for shopping at some of the factory outlets featuring yarn brands you may already know, as well as other Biella specialities. Wool and cashmere yard goods as well as beautiful clothing can be found for great prices. We’ll return to the hotel to rest from the day, to make swatches with new yarn, or shop nearby.

Although large companies dominate the wool industry in Italy, traditional craft heritage lives on. The next day, the Tactile Travellers will move southwest of Turin to try techniques almost lost with time. Stroppo and its villages are tucked in the V-shaped hillsides above the Maira River. Learning from an artisan, our group will gather herbs from the mountain meadows around Morenesio to make the dye baths to tint the clean, carded wool from the valley’s sheep. This hamlet was nearly abandoned ten years ago, but recently, young families, retirees have come to the area.

We will stay at a simple bed and breakfast with a family restaurant that serves valley specialties. After our night in the mountains, we will take our freshly dyed wool and wind our way down the valley to the fabled Langhe and Roero valleys, where we will eat at a splendid family restaurant.

The next morning, the Tactile Travellers visit Pollenza, a World Heritage Site and home to the Slow Foods University. The Slow Food movement was founded twenty years ago, encouraging regional cuisine and traditions. We will visit the Wine Bank, where after our guided tour, we can sample some of Italy’s wine heritage.