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Piero and Katie Pagliardini met in the Le Marche region of eastern Italy in 2006 when Katie was teaching English abroad. A native of Dallas, Katie was only supposed to stay for one semester, but after falling in love with Piero and the Italian culture, she stayed for four years.
After their marriage, the couple moved to Dallas. They lived on Edgecove Road, and started their family, but they lived in Lake Highlands until they realized there was a void in their lives.
“When we first moved to the States, Piro always wanted to do something that would connect his home culture to Dallas,” says Katie.
Piero began importing and distributing wines and truffles from Le Marche. After meeting famous pastry chef Margaret Brown and having the opportunity to organize a trip for her in Italy, he decided to create a tour service.
He signed up for the class because he had no business experience.
Piero and Katie Pagliadini with family. Family portrait photo courtesy of Dark Horse Photography LLC.
“I want to take the best part of America, which is the business side, and put it together with the best part of Italy, which is food and wine,” he says.
in In the year In 2015, Pagliardinis embarked on a tour of Italy. Over the past seven years, Piero and Katie have developed their tour service, creating unique immersive food and wine tours to give their customers the authentic Italian experience at their first meeting place, Le Marche.
“For tourists, people who come here can find the real Italy,” Piero said.
For most, the place is unknown, but for Pirro it is the home. He described it as very similar to Tuscany, without the large number of tourists.
Food is the heart of the tour. All meals begin with local grilled meat and cheese appetizers, along with salad and pasta. In Italy, the second course is for meat, such as slow-roasted veal served with red wine. For the grand finale, customers are served homemade mascarpone or biscotti with cherry wine for dessert.
Piero says: “We usually have 11 dishes per week visit and my strong point is to make sure each one is unique with different wine pairings.
Travelers learn about food when they’re not eating – Enjoy cooking classes with local chefs, wine and olive oil tastings, and on fall tours, truffle hunting with a local guide and dog.
“Our constant biggest complaint is that there’s too much food on tour,” jokes Katie.
Visits to historic sites such as the Ducal Palace and the Church of the Dead and trips to the Metauro River are sprinkled throughout the itinerary. Le Marche also hosts local festivals, the biggest being the Truffle Festival in October, which is an Italian and tourist favorite.
Art and writing workshops are also offered for those looking to find inspiration in Le Marche. These classes are taught throughout the week by successful authors and artists, from Italy to Italy, such as Author Jane Knox and artist Mary Whyte.
As the business grew in popularity, the Pagliardini family moved to Le Marche this past year so they could be on the ground for the tour, but kept their headquarters in Highland Lake.
When asked why they chose to keep the business in Dallas, Piero explained that since most of their customers are from the United States, it seemed like a good idea to locate it.
“The dream still lives on in Highland Lake,” Piero said.
The Pagliardinis expressed their appreciation for Dallas and the opportunities it has provided to grow their families and businesses.
Piero and Katie are always looking for new customers interested in their tours and say they include a neighborhood discount for Lakeland residents interested in a tour.
“We’d love to have you join us for a creative retreat this October with author and Dallas native Susan Frank,” says Piero.
“It’s open to artists of all levels (painters, writers, photographers) as well as those non-artists who want to escape and find inspiration. I hope they will join us in October to take their souls back to Le Marche on this unparalleled tour of culture, food and wine!”
For more information about Italiana Tours, visit italianatours.com.
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