Cook at Seliano
With Arthur Schwartz & Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli

Tenuta Seliano is the agriturismo (farm-inn) on my dear friend Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Bartta's farm.

At least four times a year, I use her farm as a base for culinary vacations that include some hands on cooking, wonderful eating and interesting culinary gastromomic and cultural touring in the south of Italy. These sessions include excursions to Puglia, Basilicata, Salerno and the Amalfi Coast.

Actually, Cecilia has two agriturismi, which are working farms that take in guests. Tenuta Seliano grows various vegetables and fruits, has olive trees whose fruit is pressed for oil, and breeds and houses horses used for riding and jumping. Masseria Eliseo, across the road, is where Cecilia’s herd of water buffalo are housed. Of course the bufala milk is used to make mozzarella and ricotta.

Cecilia operates both farms with her sons Ettore and Massimino. The farms are in Paestum, on the Sele Plain, a short drive south of the Amalfi Coast and Salerno. This fertile land is at sea level, which is why the Allies thought the "beaches of Salerno" were a good place to land at the end of World War II, and why mud-loving buffalo thrive there. This is the land of mozzarella di bufala. If there is one thing I can guarantee you, it’s that you will be eating plenty of this unique cheese in its prime. I dare say, you will become an expert on mozzarella.

To see what Cecilia’s Tenuta Seliano looks like, including the guest rooms, go to her website using this address: www.agriturismoseliano.it.

All of the rooms on both farms are very comfortable, decorated with vintage furniture and have private, modern bathrooms. We will be spending time at both places. The cooking will be in the brand new kitchen of Eliseo. Tenuta Seliano has a gorgeous and large swimming pool for use when the weather permits – during summer sessions.

The farms are just down the road from the famous ancient Greek temples of Paestum, which are considered some of the most perfectly preserved ancient Greek temples in the world. Of course, we will visit them with a knowledgeable guide.

We have planned four seasonal sessions. All the sessions are different – with different foods and recipes and some different cultural activities. Each session has three half-day cooking classes combined with other half-day activities, and two full days of touring.

We are supposing that some people will want to include this sojourn as part of a longer trip to Italy. Transportation to and from the U.S. and Italy is not included, but I can help you, on an advisory basis, outline a larger trip, and make some suggestions about where to stay, where to eat, and what other sights you can see in Naples, Salerno, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Ischia or points south.