We Sassi folk are multi-talented, I dare say. In addition to having forgotten more about Italy than most tour guides have ever learned, Doug Sassi is also a career professional potter with an MFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. His functional pottery has influenced an entire generation of ceramicists far and wide.

While there’s certainly more to Italy tours than museums and architecture and historical sites, you really do get a deeper understanding of what you’re seeing thanks to Doug’s art and art history background.