Pizza & Focaccia Cooking Class in Cortona: Learn from local home cooks

Shape dough, build toppings, bake in a home kitchen in Cortona.

A hands-on pizza and focaccia cooking class in Cortona taught by a local home cook, where you prepare both dishes from scratch, bake them, and eat what you've made with regional wine and a small appetizer. The class runs three hours and is offered in morning or afternoon slots. English and Italian are both spoken.

The experience

You work in a local cook's home kitchen in Cortona, not in a restaurant or a commercial space. The class walks you through making pizza and Focaccia Toscana dough from the beginning (mixing, kneading, understanding the technique), then moves to toppings and assembly. You shape and layer the ingredients yourself, guided by someone who learned these recipes locally and has cooked them for years. While the oven does its work, you taste a regional appetizer and hear about how these dishes fit into Cortona's food culture, with a glass of wine to drink while you wait.

Once everything comes out of the oven, you sit down to eat the pizza and focaccia you've just made, paired with more regional wine. The whole experience takes three hours. You can book either the morning class or the afternoon class, depending on what fits the rest of your day in Tuscany. The class is hosted through Cesarine, Italy's oldest network of home cooks, which means you're learning from someone in their own space, not from a professional cooking school instructor.

What’s included

• Hands-on instruction in making pizza and Focaccia Toscana dough from scratch.
• use of the kitchen and all ingredients needed to prepare both dishes.
• tasting of your finished pizza and focaccia paired with regional wine.
• a small regional appetizer.
• insights into Cortona's food culture and traditions from a local cook.

Options for this experience

2 options

Morning classGuide in English or Italian · Available from 3 Mar 2027

Afternoon classGuide in English or Italian · Available from 16 Dec · 17:00

You pick the guide language when booking.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesMonday, Wednesday and SundayDeparts at 17:00

Book up to10h before

AgesAdult (9 and older) · Child (4 to 8 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupUp to 10

Live guideEnglish and Italian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Public transport nearby

Operated by Cesarine: Cooking Class

Is this one for you?Book the morning class if you want the cooking and tasting done before lunch elsewhere in Cortona. The afternoon class works better if you're eating dinner in town afterward and want the class to lead into that.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 8 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What exactly do I learn to make in this class?

You learn to prepare pizza dough and Focaccia Toscana from scratch, including how to mix and knead the dough, then build and bake both. The focaccia is the Tuscan flatbread version, not the Italian bread you might know from other regions.

Do I get to eat what I cook?

Yes. After baking, you taste the pizza and focaccia you've made, served with a glass of regional wine and a small regional appetizer. That tasting is part of the three-hour class time.

Where does the class take place?

The class happens in a local cook's home kitchen in Cortona. It's not a restaurant kitchen or a commercial cooking school. You're learning in the space where your instructor actually cooks.

What's the difference between the morning and afternoon class?

Both are the same three-hour hands-on cooking class with the same instructor and menu. The morning class starts earlier in the day, and the afternoon class starts later. Pick whichever fits your schedule in Cortona.

Is wine included?

Yes. A glass of regional wine is included with the tasting at the end of the class, and you'll have wine while you wait for the pizza and focaccia to bake.