Pasta workshop at the Le Forre del Treja farm

The Treja valley is wheat country as well as woodland and ravines. On its northern edge, in Civita Castellana, the organic farm Le Forre del Treja grows ancient wheats, among them Senatore Cappelli, and makes its own pasta from them. Its pasta workshop is the fullest paid activity near Calcata: three hours with your hands in the dough and a farm lunch at the end.

What the workshop is like

It is run by the farm's cooks and pasta makers. You learn the whole process using traditional techniques and locally milled flour: mixing, kneading and shaping several types of pasta by hand. All materials and ingredients are included. At the end you eat what comes from the farm's own fields, with wine, and take home the pasta you have made.

It costs €95 per person or €170 for a couple. You book through the activities page of the farm's website, by phone or on WhatsApp. The website does not publish fixed days: ask for a date when you book and check whether the workshop can be held on a Saturday or Sunday, when the restaurant is also open.

The farm's pasta

The pasta line is called Eredi Strampelli, after Nazareno Strampelli, the agronomist who developed wheat varieties in this part of Lazio in the early 20th century. The farm grows several of them, stone-grinds them and makes a bronze-drawn pasta, dried slowly, with only flour and water from the local springs.

Other activities on the farm

If you prefer something shorter, the guided tour of the farm lasts two hours and costs €45 per person: organic farming practices, the animals and a tasting of produce. For those who cook at home, the Italian cooking class prepares a full menu in three hours, for €125 per person.

Getting there

The farm is at Via Castel Sant'Elia, 5, in the countryside of Civita Castellana, about 15 km from Calcata and around an hour from Rome along the Flaminia. There is parking on the estate. Without a car it is not practical to get there.