About Majella Tours of Italy
Meet Michelle
My name is Michelle DiBenedetto-Capobianco.
I’m a daughter of Italian immigrants, mom to three boys and a corporate lawyer-turned-cooking-school-owner in New York.
Since 2017, I have organized experience-based, small-group tours of my beloved, unspoiled central Italian region of Abruzzo – a land of sprawling national parks, pristine Adriatic coastlines, hidden hermitages carved into stone and rambling medieval villages.
While Abruzzo will always be first in my heart, I've been fortunate to travel deeply throughout Italy and am thrilled to offer tours in other territories that I love including Puglia & Matera, the Italian Riviera, the Dolomites and Emilia-Romagna.
La Majella ("Mah-yel-lah")
My father, Gino, was born and raised in Salle, a tiny town located in the Parco Nazionale della Maiella (or Majella*, as it was originally called in Roman times) in Abruzzo. Named for the beautiful Dea (goddess) Maja, for the Abruzzesi, the Majella mountain is revered as “La Madre” – the mother – a proud and nurturing symbol of the region’s land and fertility.
*A quick personal aside – during a visit to Salle when I was a teenager, my then precocious 6-year old cousin, Davide - now the mayor of Salle - nicknamed me “Majella” as he led me around town spewing gossip about the villagers! The name stuck!
The Luxury of Decision-Free Travel
One of the comments I hear most often is: “It felt like such a gift — like sitting down at a table and the food just arrives. No decisions. No stress. Just pure enjoyment.”
We all make a thousand decisions each day. Where to go, what to eat, how to get there, what time, which route, which restaurant… it never ends. On my tours, I remove all of that. Every reservation, every route, every tasting, every transfer, every moment…handled. And because the logistics are taken care of, they actually get to be together. Not coordinating, not worrying, not negotiating over “what’s for dinner tonight,” but genuinely connecting. That, to me, is true luxury.
Whether you’re dreaming of alpine peaks or seaside sunsets, I’d be honored to help you live your next Italian adventure.
Explore Culture through Local Food & Wine
Italy's regional cuisines are extremely diverse, but share in common an insistence on using local ingredients and respecting tradition. Our tours offer a deep dive into regional culture through one-of-a-kind food experiences including hands-on cooking classes & workshops; visits to family-owned artisanal producers, private tastings; and farm-to-table meals in one-of-a-kind settings.
Get to Know Locals
We use local guides on all of our tours - winemakers, olive oil producers, chefs, nature guides, innkeepers & artisans. They will welcome you with open arms and go out of their way to share with you their passion for their beloved territory.
