Food has a civilizing power; it also has a soul-making power.

The mission of all Terra programs is to use food as a vehicle to connect young adults to important concepts and issues involving the world and the people around us, including the importance of the impact we can have through our choices big and small.

The daily choice of eating impacts and connects to every element of our environment and the oneness of our relationship with others. At the center of all that is respect and appreciation for what we take and what we give back.

Terra Summer Italia strives to teach children those values in a special corner of Italy. No other country in the Western world has and maintains such a full and beloved agricultural and culinary tradition. And no other location can so purely translate the beauty and sanctity of the environment and the importance it holds.

Children love pizza, and they love pasta. It is important, then, that they see how those really came about, how they are made, and what that entails. When we eat olive oil, it is important to know where it comes from and to understand its history – the labor that is involved, the beauty of the tree, the sacredness of its fruit.

We also believe that young people need to connect more intimately with the outdoors, with nature and animals, and with their own power and their own inner emotional life. We believe that spending time in nature in a location such as the Abbazia di Spineto, home to thousands of deer, wild pigs, and pheasants, will bring joy and emotional and intellectual nourishment to your child and your family.

Terra Summer Italia, like Terra Summer in the United States, is a vegetarian program. The objective of the Terra programs is to instill in children and adults a sense of stewardship for the environment and for our world. At Terra we believe that food choices have a particularly important role to play: The production of food impacts waterways, landfills, and the quality of life of people everywhere. Being vegetarian at Terra is about sustainability and respect for other beings.

Terra Summer Italia is a for-profit business whose goal is to help support the philanthropic endeavors of The Terra Project, forwarding the education and development of children through food.