Travelers will discover the food, wine, art and lifestyle of Tuscany and Umbria, two of Italy's most colorful regions, during a fall culinary and cultural tour coordinated by UC Davis Extension.

This "Food Wine and Culture of Tuscany" tour, scheduled this fall for Oct. 10-20, will feature instructors from Apicius -- The Culinary Institute of Florence as tour guides. The tour is co-sponsored by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis.

Tour participants will taste the food and wine of Tuscany and Umbria, and explore the relationships between the regions' food and tradition, art and lifestyle. They also will have the opportunity to interact with chefs and food-and-wine experts, while learning how to prepare authentic Italian cuisine. The tour will include visits to local markets, restaurants, wineries, cheese factories, art galleries and museums.

Tour members will learn about the cultural norms of food consumption, then compare them with the rules of music, dance and poetry. They also will explore the relationships between food and religion, gender, tradition, art and lifestyle.

Some of the highlights of the tour will be visits in Florence to the culinary institute, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Academia gallery, home to Michelangelo's statue of David. Tour members also will visit the Parmigiano Cheese Factory in Parma, and participate in a chocolate workshop and dinner with renowned European chocolate and pastry chef Andrea Bianchini.

Participating in the tour from UC Davis will be Dennis Dutschke, professor of Italian and associate vice provost for International Programs, and Beth Greenwood, director of UC Davis Extension's International Law Program.

A complete itinerary for the tour is available online at http://extension.ucdavis.edu/tourism/. The fee for the tour, not including airfare to and from Florence, is $3,590. A $718 deposit is required, and final payment is due by Aug. 28, 2006. Refunds must be requested by Sept. 4, 2006.