An Italian Floral and Food Affair: FlowerSchool Travel Program with Elena Mencarelli and Maria Del Campo
Updated: 6 hours ago
Discover the people, places, and creative inspiration behind An Italian Floral & Food Affair, an exclusive eight-day experience curated for FlowerSchool.
Italy offers an inspiring setting for FlowerSchool students to explore floral design beyond the classroom, with rich regional traditions, distinctive flowers and foliage, and a deep connection between food, art, and the natural world. Our newest travel program, “An Italian Floral & Food Affair”, is an exclusive eight-day journey through Milan, Lake Como, and Venice, curated specifically for the FlowerSchool community. Led by FlowerSchool alumna and Italian floral designer Elena Mencarelli and local experience curator Maria Del Campo of Ca’ di Campo, the trip offers access to flower markets, hands-on workshops, remarkable private settings, and cultural experiences shaped by the hosts' personal knowledge and local relationships.
Rather than following a typical tourist itinerary, Elena and Maria invite guests to discover Italy through their eyes, introducing the people, places, and traditions that visitors might otherwise miss. From behind-the-scenes insight into Italy's floral industry to intimate regional dining and lesser-known cultural gems, every detail is thoughtfully selected to create a personal, immersive experience that connects floral inspiration with the pleasure of traveling like a local.
April 23 - 30, 2027
Savor the delights of Italy like a local! Enjoy eight luxurious days across Milan, Lake Como, and Venice. Indulge yourself in local flowers, food, and art to experience firsthand the Italian way of life.
Meet Your Hosts: Two Creative Perspectives, One Extraordinary Experience
Elena Mencarelli: From FlowerSchool Student to Italian Floral Designer
Elena's journey with flowers has taken her from Italy, to San Francisco and New York, and back again, with FlowerSchool New York playing a pivotal role along the way.
With a background in art curation, Elena initially discovered floral design through hands-on work in flower shops. While she gained valuable practical experience, she wanted to deepen her understanding of the techniques, design styles, and creative principles behind the work. After moving to New York from San Francisco, she enrolled in FlowerSchool's six-week Floral Design Program, where she studied with Executive Director Calvert Crary.
“It was really an eye-opening experience for me. Calvert taught us the basics, things that are so pivotal for our job, different kinds of techniques, but also entrepreneurship and photography, which is so important for us florists.”
For Elena, the experience opened up an entirely new understanding of her craft. She explored the fundamentals of floral design, from technique and contemporary styles to color theory, color stories, and the entrepreneurial skills needed to build a business. Following graduation, she completed an internship with New York floral designer Designs by Ahn, an experience that helped shape her interest in event design.
Today, Elena runs her own floral design business based in Milan, creating weddings and events throughout Italy. Having built her career in both the American and Italian floral industries, she brings a particularly valuable perspective to this trip: she understands the technical foundations of floral design taught at FlowerSchool, as well as the nuances of sourcing and working with flowers in Italy. “I started doing my own events when I was still living in New York City. I wanted to open my business in a place that felt more familiar to me, where I had more of a network, which was Italy.”
During the journey, Elena will lead the floral experiences, including a visit to the flower market and hands-on workshops developed especially for the group. She will also share insights into the Italian floral industry, local sourcing, seasonal materials, and the creative possibilities that emerge when designers learn to work with what is available.
As Elena explains, the Italian floral market operates quite differently from the American one. Flowers can be more difficult to source, varieties are less readily available, and relationships with local vendors are essential. Rather than seeing these limitations as obstacles, Elena has learned to use them as opportunities to explore new materials and develop her creativity.
For FlowerSchool students, this is an opportunity to learn from someone who has navigated both worlds firsthand, and who knows how to translate that experience into meaningful lessons for fellow designers.
Maria Del Campo: Curating Italy Beyond the Expected
Maria Del Campo has crafted an experience unlike anything we’ve offered before. Through Ca’ di Campo, her luxury experience agency in Italy, she creates thoughtfully curated experiences shaped by architecture, design, art, hospitality, and local culture.
Her background spans architecture, interior design, art direction, and hospitality, including work as an art director and design manager for The Standard's Miami property. After moving to Italy for a master's degree, Maria fell in love with the country's quality of life and decided to make it home.
Today, she specializes in destination weddings and experiential travel, drawing on her design background and knowledge of Italy to connect people with places that feel meaningful rather than simply popular. She seeks out distinctive properties, independent vendors, memorable restaurants, and hidden gems that visitors might never discover on their own.
For Maria, curating an experience is about more than selecting beautiful destinations. It is about understanding what makes a place special, finding the right people to introduce guests to it, and creating a natural connection between the setting, the culture, and the experience itself.
“I scout the whole country, finding the hidden gems and the best types of vendors for every region, and people who do things a little bit differently, not just your regular, cookie-cutter sort of thing.”
That philosophy is central to this journey. The hotels, restaurants, gardens, and cultural visits have been selected to complement one another, creating a journey that feels cohesive rather than a collection of disconnected stops. Even the meals are part of that vision, with opportunities to experience regional Italian cooking in the kinds of places where locals gather.
Maria will guide the overall experience, helping guests navigate each destination, bridging cultural and language differences, and sharing the stories and context that bring each place to life.
“We love Italy, and not just the Italy that everyone sees.”
Inside the Experience: Flowers, Food, Art, and the Unexpected
Over eight days, guests will travel through Milan, Lake Como, and Venice, discovering each destination through a carefully considered mix of floral education, cultural exploration, beautiful settings, and regional food.
The journey begins in Milan, where guests will explore the local flower market with Elena, gaining insight into how Italy's floral industry operates, before enjoying a floral workshop and discovering the city's gardens and neighborhoods. From there, the group travels to Lake Como for a visit to the charming lakeside towns, a private boat experience with aperitivo, and a special floral design experience, followed by a memorable meal together.
Continuing toward Venice, the journey includes a stop in the Lake Garda region to enjoy regional food and wine before arriving in Venice by water. Here, guests will discover the city's canals, gardens, and quieter neighborhoods, visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and experience Venetian food traditions through local aperitivo and cicchetti. The trip culminates in a final floral table experience and dinner, bringing together the flowers, flavors, and creative inspiration discovered along the way.
Every detail has been thoughtfully selected by Elena and Maria to offer more than a sightseeing tour. From behind-the-scenes access to the floral trade to intimate meals and distinctive cultural experiences, the itinerary reflects the places and traditions they love themselves. With both hosts accompanying the group, guests can enjoy the reassurance of local expertise while discovering Italy at a more personal pace.
Join Us for An Italian Floral & Food Affair
Created exclusively for FlowerSchool with Ca’ di Campo, and guided by Elena Mencarelli and Maria Del Campo, it is an opportunity to step outside the classroom, find fresh creative inspiration, and experience Italy with a level of personal insight that only local knowledge and thoughtful curation can provide.
Whether you are a FlowerSchool graduate, a practicing floral designer, or simply someone who loves flowers and the art of living well, we invite you to discover Italy with us.
I played Block Blast while waiting for a local farm to finish demonstrating how to make cheese from fresh milk. The instructor lifted the curds from the cloth and pressed them into a small mold.