Antica Travel Co.

30/08/2026

Reservations are open for our 2027 Antica Cultural travel experiences.

WILD HEART OF ITALY
Follow us through the ‘hidden’ regions of Ciociaria & Molise in central Italy. Off the beaten path, into the extraordinary. A rare insight into the real Italy.

09-16 May 2027
19-26 September 2027

ANCIENT TRIBES & TRUFFLES
The most glorious Bronze Age adventure through the remote but sophisticated & personality-packed region of Istria in northern Croatia. Sea, mountains, hilltop villages and TRUFFLES.

19-26 May 2027
06-13 October 2027 - only two places left

We have a special offer on our first two Istria cultural travel experiences if you reserve your place by the end of September. Hint: ask for the Itinerary Highlights Book.

READ the latest issue of the Antica Travel Journal:
https://anticatravelco.substack.com/p/2027-antica-cultural-travel-experiences

28/06/2026

Put yourself in the picture and follow us to the Wild Heart of Italy - to the ‘hidden’ regions of Ciociaria & Molise in central Italy.

Next adventures for curious & cultured explorers in May & September 2027. Details coming soon, subscribe to our Antica Travel Journal to be first to know. Link in bio link 🔗

25/06/2026

Say it with us:

CIOCIARIA. It means ‘The Land of the Cioce Wearers’

Cioce are handmade leather footwear which were worn for thousands of years in the valleys & mountain meadows of this part of Lazio up until the early 20th century.

Hidden within the greater Lazio region that surrounds Rome, for thousands of years the borders of Ciociaria have existed in the hearts, minds and souls of Ciociarians, while rarely [if at all] acknowledged on maps.

Ciociaria is not even this hidden region’s real name - that has been lost in the mists of time…

A people proudly descended from two of the twelve Bronze Age Italic tribes of central Italy - the Ernici & the Volscii - who settled what is now known as Ciociaria.

At the point of the Apennines a natural border forms with Ciociaria between the neighbouring regions of Abruzzo and Molise. It became the National Park of Lazio, Abruzzo & Molise in the 1920s - but up here is where the first concept of a united nation of Italic tribes under the name ITALIA first formed over 3,000 years ago, as the 12 Italic tribe joined forces to defend their treasured land against the invading ancient Romans.

Around 300 BC they lost, but their spirit lives on. In their food, in their music & songs, in their dialects.

This is the story we bring to life for you when you journey with us through the Wild Heart of Italy™ - the ‘hidden’ regions of Ciociaria & Molise.

21/06/2026

Small, Sustainable & Seasonal. We deliberately curate our Wild Heart of Italy cultural travel experiences through Ciociaria & Molise in the low-season periods of May & September each year.

This provides our guests with an absolutely intimate experience of regional Italy, with no crowds at heritage sites or other holiday-makers in the piazza.

It’s just them & their village. Up close with our local producers. No rush to get to the next place. Time to soak it all in.

Because it’s a different world. Transformative.

Our guests come away with completely new perspectives on a whole bunch of things: the joys of slow living; connections between people, land and environment; uncluttered thinking; the long stretch of human history and our small [but important!] role in it.

Most importantly, by sticking to our May & September dates we are helping our locals extend their business season pre and post the peak Summer period in Italy.

More joyful for you. More joyful for them. Win-Win 😍

We will be sharing the dates and opening reservations for our 2027 May & September adventures through the Wild Heart of Italy soon 💫 👀

17/06/2026

More love from our May guests 🤗

14/06/2026

It has taken us over a decade to truly get under the skin of the ‘hidden’ region of Ciociaria in central Italy.

Hidden within the region of Lazio that surrounds Rome, Ciociaria is a place of invisible aeons old borders that exist within the hearts and minds of Ciociarians: descended from the pre-Roman Italic tribes of the Ernici & the Volscii.
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09/06/2026

We noticed our May 2026 guests really diving into the wine experiences we curated for them, with intellectual curiosity and open minds to discover what makes the wines of the Ciociaria in central Italy sing.

The passion of local vignerons and wine-makers shone through, sharing their personal stories of reviving ancient vines and almost extinct native varietals over the last decade including Maturano [white] and Cesanese [red] using traditional and experimental organic and biodynamic techniques.

The additional legacy of nearly 200 years of Cabernet DOC in the Atina district within Ciociaria also highly impressed our guests, with its distinct Ciociarian terroir flavour.

🍷 a great time in the vineyards of Ciociaria enjoyed by all!

05/06/2026

03/06/2026

I’m on a roll with archaic languages - and this is my favourite spot in the castle of Fumone in Ciociaria.

Perhaps more famous for being the place Pope Celestino V was imprisoned & died after abdicating in 1294, and there’s a mummified child in a glass cabinet in the archives library…

…but I’m far more fascinated by the two words inscribed on the lintel above this door into the castle:

ARSE VERSE

[ar-seh vur-seh]

It’s ancient Etruscan. A language long dead. This is one of the very few remaining written examples.

Scholars have interpreted it as meaning ‘Fire Begone!’ - an ancient protective ward to guard against fires.

I’m not so sure.

Firstly, I think it’s been translated & transcribed around the wrong way into Roman script. The ancient Etruscan & Oscan alphabets were written & read from right to left, like Arabic today.

I think it should be read VERSE.ARSE.

The renowned ancient Roman playwright Lucius Afrianus from 100 BC agrees with me.

Also, in Etruscan/Oscan the V symbol actually represents the ú sound. So it’s: ÚERSE ARSE. Say it three times quickly and any malevolent spirits around you will scatter 👻 i think it’s an incredibly ancient Italic tribes threshold protection talisman, an evocative spell.

Anyway, these are the thoughts I’m thinking when on tour with our groups & everyone else is looking at the well at the bottom of the stairs where they used to threaten local village girls they’d be thrown down it if they were discovered not to be virgins on their wedding night. Yep.

01/06/2026

Going in for a close-up of this marvellous sculpture of the Tabula Osca [the Oscan Tablet] of the hilltop town of Agnone in the region of Molise in central Italy.

It is one of the most significant written artefacts left behind by the pre-Roman Sanniti civilisation in their native Oscan language.

This is a sculptural interpretation covering a wall of the Marinelli Bell Factory in Agnone, the real Tabula Osca is a small A4 size bronze weathered in a green patina from being buried for thousands of years.

Discovered in a field near Agnone in 1848, the Tabula Osca is an intriguing account of a sacred site dedicated to the goddess Ceres. It also lists a series of festivals and dedications for different deities throughout the year, giving a unique insight into a lost civilisation.

Written in the extinct Oscan language, it still hasn’t been fully translated. It has been on display at the British Museum since 1873 and we are here for the calls for it to be returned home to Agnone 🤍💫

We take our Wild Heart of Italy guests to see a copy of the Tabula Osca, hidden in a medieval library in a convent, to soak up an understanding of the original Italic peoples of central Italy during the Bronze Age.