SALUDA SISTER CITY
Trips with Saluda Sister City
Come with us for a week in a 1700s refurbished palace in a touring and cooking school perched at the very tip top of the hill town of Carunchio in the region of Abruzzo in southern Italy.
For the fourth year in a row, Sister City has reserved the week beginning with the Infiorata Flower Festival in Carunchio! Join the tradition.
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The Palace
Palazzo Tour D’Eau was built by a prestigious French noble family in the early 1700s. The Tour D’Eau family had been invited to come and establish a vineyard and teach viniculture.
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Costs
2,800 - 3,400 euros (this is 1/2 off the full rate and for Saluda Sister City members only.) The exact charge depends on how you pay and on double or single occupancy. Contact us for more details.
Carunchio in Abruzzo
This village is east of Rome, across the country, almost to the Adriatic, perched on the point of a chocolate-drop shaped hill. The views from the Palace and its patio are breathtaking.
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Inclusions and exclusions:
Your room, all meals, all travel within Italy, cooking lessons, and tours are all included. There is unlimited red wine included with lunch and dinner.
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The Program at The Palace
The Carunchio experience includes transportation to and from Rome, all meals of the most amazing gourmet quality, all the red wine you want with lunch and dinner, all the cappuccino...
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How To Sign Up
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Read everything and look at the websites.
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Email us with any specific questions.
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Make a decision...(we hope it's yes!).
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Flower Festival Trip
Week begins on Saturday, June 6th, 2026 when you arrive in Carunchio.
The Flower Festival is held on Sunday, June 7th. Your week at the Palazzo and cooking school will conclude on Friday, June 12th.
For the fourth year in a row, Sister City has reserved the weekend of the Infiorata Flower Festival in Carunchio for our 2026 group trip!! It is unique in Italy and features designs related to the religious holiday and other secular scenes constructed completely out of petals and leaves without adding any dye. There will be scenes from the Old and New Testaments, the logo of Saluda, a globe celebrating the common connections of all humans, etc. Workers labor for days in advance to collect the flowers and petals and create beautiful designs. The purpose of the event is essentially to keep alive, through the paintings made of flower petals, the deep religious faith, and the cultural prestige, but also to spread new meaning and artistic content of friendship between peoples.
To help you fully enjoy the event, Massimo has agreed to arrange for everyone to come a day earlier (leaving the US on the Friday to arrive on Saturday before the Sunday festival, then leaving Carunchio to return to the airport on the following Friday morning to fly out to the US on Saturday morning).
Of course, this assumes you are not going early or staying later. We have several recommendations of places to stay near the airport or in Rome if you plan to stay over. If there is enough interest, we can arrange a private tour of Ostia Antica for the afternoon of the day you return to Rome and, if enough people are interested, a final dinner at a favorite restaurant, all near the airport. Then you fly home Saturday morning unless you decide to stay for other travel adventures. The return drive from Carunchio does not get you in before about 2:00 pm and flights west go earlier in the day so it is usually not possible to fly out the day you return to Rome. Anyone can arrive in Italy early or stay late and we will provide guidance as needed on tours, locations, guides, rooms, etc. The airport is in Fiumicino, outside of Rome.
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Learn even more at https://www.abruzzocibus.com/food-tours/abruzzo-cooking/
Palazzo Tour D’Eau
Palazzo Tour D’Eau was built by a prestigious French noble family in the early 1700s. The Tour D’Eau family had been invited by the ruling noble in this area of Abruzzo to come and establish a vineyard and teach viniculture. The abandoned Palazzo was purchased and restored by our host’s father in the early 2000s and now is used exclusively for groups who come for a week to explore the region, enjoy incredible food and wine, and learn to cook regional specialties.
There are 12 rooms, each with private bath. There is a large dining table seating 24 for dinners, cozy 8-tops in the breakfast area, another large table for 24 in the cooking school where a few lunches are served and another large table for 24 on the patio. Bedrooms are on the second floor. For those with difficulty climbing stairs, there is one room on the ground floor that can be arranged, though it does not have a view.
The former cellar below, now the cooking school, boasts a vaulted ceiling, walls covered with beautiful mosaics, a wood fired pizza oven and state of the art cooking fixtures. Entry to this area is from the left end of the palace at the outside patio area, an easy walk down a sloped sidewalk from the front entrance. No steps.
Carunchio in Abruzzo
This village is east of Rome, across the country, almost to the Adriatic, perched on the point of a chocolate-drop shaped hill. The views from the Palace and its patio are breathtaking. There are tiny hill towns all around on the distant hills and snow-capped mountains in the distance. It is definitely a “vertical” town but there is plenty to explore around the very top where it is mostly flat. It dates from 1000 AD and is listed as one of the “100 Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.” It is 35 minutes from the Adriatic and near several other towns of interest and a large national park with a fabulous destination spa that I love. Interestingly, Carunchio and Saluda have the same population (about 600), are at the same latitude and the same altitude (but Carunchio is steeper). Four or five excursions to explore the area are organized by Massimo for all and are included in the cost. Twelve of us from Saluda and Charlotte went to Carunchio in 2014, and it continued every year (except covid years) for a total of 179 Sister City travelers over the years since 2014. Many said it was the best trip of their life.