Venture off the beaten path. Into the extraordinary.

Meaningful Cultural Travel Experiences for Conscious & Curious Explorers.

Handcrafted and Hosted by Paolo & Kelly Picarazzi of Antica Travel Co. | Antica Australis

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Follow us to the Wild Heart of Italy

To the ‘hidden’ regions of Ciociaria & Molise in central Italy - once the heartland of the Bronze Age civilisation of the Samnites [I Sanniti].

They called themselves the Safineis. Their ancient cultural heart is still beating strongly in these lands.

Upcoming Antica Cultural Travel Experiences

  • 3-10 May 2026

    ATINA - VALLE DI COMINO, CIOCIARIA

    The hilltop village of Atina appears Medieval at first glance, but it was originally a fortified city of the Volscii tribe of the Samnite (Sanniti/Safineis) civilisation during the Bronze Age. It was also a strategic site in ancient Roman times. Staying in the boutique hotel wing of an 18th century palazzo, hosted by the aristocratic family who live there.

    MICRO-GROUP SIZE: MAXIMUM 9

    Special Introductory Package Cost for 2026

    SOME PLACES AVAILABLE 2026. BOOK NOW!

    Next availability: 16-23 May / 5-12 September 2027.

    SEE ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THIS LINK

  • 10-17 May 2026

    PICINISCO - VALLE DI COMINO, CIOCIARIA

    The 1,000 year old village of Picinisco is encircled by fortified medieval castle walls and perched on the border of the Abruzzo, Lazio & Molise National Park in the Apennine Mountains. You will be staying the week in a Belle Epoque villa with a deep dive into the lives of local artisanal producers and their proud Samnite (Sanniti/Safineis) cultural heritage.

    MICRO-GROUP SIZE: MAXIMUM 8

    Special Introductory Package Cost for 2026

    FULLY BOOKED 2026

    Next availability: 9-16 May 2027

    SEE ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THIS LINK

  • 20-27 September 2026

    VEROLI - ERNICI MOUNTAINS, CIOCIARIA

    The ancient village of Veroli was originally a settlement of the Ernici tribe of the Samnite (Sanniti/Safineis) civilisation during the Bronze Age. The ancient Romans re-built on the foundations of the city’s original megalithic walls when it became the Roman Municipium of Verulae in 90 BC. You will be staying in a 1,000 year old Monastery with links to the Knights Templar.

    SMALL GROUP SIZE: MAXIMUM 12

    Special Introductory Package Cost for 2026

    PLACES AVAILABLE FOR 2026. BOOK NOW!

    Next availability: 19-26 September 2027

    SEE ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THIS LINK

Make a Reservation Enquiry or Booking Request through the link below.

We can also tailor itineraries and dates for Private Experience Groups

Antica Travel Manifesto

Antica Travel Co. is a values-based boutique travel company focused on supporting slow and conscious travel. We share a commitment between our business, our travellers, and our local collaborators to build journeys that enrich us all while we are experiencing them, and which contribute to the sustainability of the local communities we visit. Our guiding principles for every Antica Travel Co. journey are:

  • Our itineraries start with questions, not assumptions - inviting our guests to learn with locals, rather than just observe, and to become fully immersed in our local experiences.

  • This approach fosters deeper connections for you with our locals and with each other as we travel together, and we leave a lighter environmental footprint on the places we visit.

  • We embrace slower travel, slow food and seasonal rhythms, purposefully selecting low season dates for our travel experiences outside of high-season mass tourism periods.

  • Our journeys together through the remote regions of Ciociaria & Molise in central Italy include incredible opportunities for you to hear direct from our local knowledge‑keepers: academics, artisans and producers. It’s an opportunity for them too, to share their stories with you in their own way, and in their own dialects. We’ll translate for you.

  • We are consciously focused on contributing to our local collaborators remaining sustainable and viable in business, and in making a genuine contribution to the local communities we live and work in.

  • We have dedicated more than twelve years of dedicated research to learn how to piece together travel experiences worthy of the many thousands of centuries of stories of the ancient regions of Ciociaria & Molise, and we continue to invest our personal time and passion in exploration and research of these regions.

Wooden boardwalk surrounded by tall reeds with mountains in the background and four people walking at the front, viewing them from behind at Lago di Posta Fibreno in the Valle di Comino of Ciociaria. Wild Heart of Italy. Photo credit Antica Travel Co

  • "Exploring the beautiful Comino Valley in the Apennine Mountains region, we felt privileged to be welcomed into local, long-established and innovative family businesses and hear from energetic entrepreneurs and academics pursuing a shared goal of sustainable regional tourism."

    Lisa G, Wild Heart of Italy tour. September 2019

  • "Just perfect for the adventurous, the curious, those who are tired of crowds and tourist restaurants, and for those who dislike moving from hotel to hotel to make the most of their vacation."

    Janette D, Wild Heart of Italy tour. September 2018

  • "Kelly and Paolo are a great team. They provided a wonderful insight into regional Italy. The enthusiasm of the locals we met- whether they were local guides or vignerons was infectious. We felt like guests not tourists. Paolo’s insights as a local were wonderful. Every day was a treat and full of unexpected discovery."

    David B, Wild Heart of Italy tour. September 2019

  • "Our Ciociarian adventure had everything - visits to beautiful & interesting places, good company, delicious food! And wine!"

    Sabina F, Ciociaria Cultural Travel Experience. September 2024

  • "A great fit for those who want to learn more and appreciate more, and who want to extract the very essence of life from every day, and who are flexible enough to confidently do so.”

    Janette D, Wild Heart of Italy tour. December 2018

  • "We gave Kelly a tall order: create a private tour to Italy which can satisfy 13 people aged from 10 to 80 years old for a 'small' family reunion, with guests flying into Italy from four different countries. She & Paolo delivered. We are all still talking (and dreaming!) about this trip years later."

    Aghia G, tailored Wild Heart of Italy private tour. December 2018

  • “I've been on a cycle holiday in Italy five or six times before with various local providers. This Ciociaria experience was head and shoulders above the rest.”

    Louise B, Ciociaria Bespoke Gourmet Cycle Tour. September 2024

“Italy today is far more Etruscan [& Sanniti] in its pulse than Roman; and will always be so. The Etruscan [& Sanniti] element is like the grass of the field and the sprouting of corn, in Italy: it will always be so.”  

— DH Lawrence, ‘Etruscan Places: Travels Through Forgotten Italy’ [with help from Kelly Picarazzi]. The Etruscan and Sanniti civilisations of the Bronze Age in central Italy flourished in parallel.