Italian Connection, an Italy-based tour operator, offers hand-crafted walking, cooking and cultural tours for corporate meetings and incentive groups of 10 to 100 people. The tours are based on the owners’ and guide’s personal experiences and connections in the lesser-known areas of their favorite seven regions of Italy. Customized itineraries can include stays in a five-star Palazzo in Siena, Tuscany, a 300 year old former monastery in the Barolo wine region of Piedmont, or in a hill-side hotel in Positano with spectacular views of the Amalfi Coast. The hotels have well-equipped meeting facilities and some have spas and golf nearby. Italian Connection can arrange fun and unique team activities such as high-tech treasure hunts in Verona or Venice, where players communicate by text messaging, and traditional walking treasure hunts in Florence or Lucca in Tuscany. Food is a big part of the Italian Connection experience. Groups can learn how to shape provola cheese and make bread in Sicily, truffle hunt in Piedmont or cook with a chef in a local trattoria on the Amalfi Coast. For the more adventurous groups, hiking and rock climbing can be arranged in the Dolomites (Italian Alps). Italian Connection will customize the tours and activities according to the group’s budget.

For more information, call Italian Connection at 1-800-462-7911 or visit www.italian-connection.com.

Read our blog about life and travel in Italy: http://blog.italian-connection.com.

Ragusa, Sicily, Italy (August, 2009).