NOMADIC SPEAKERS
Maurizio Giambalvo
Social Impact
Co-founder of Next and Wonderful Italy and the founder of VisitPalermo.it and VisitSicily with two decades in social impact and cultural innovation, he focuses on community development, sustainable tourism, and roots travel through the Italea program.
Ilena Curiale
Cultural Storytelling
Founder of Ti ci devo portare in Sicilia, is a Sicilian travel creator and storyteller who left a career in biomedical engineering to share her homeland through art and narrative. She curates experiences, events that reveal Sicily’s soul — its people, traditions, and living stories.
Stefano Passarello and Crystal Lee
Sustainable Hospitality
Co-founders of Kapuhala, an eco-wellness brand dedicated to longevity, holistic health, and sustainable living through retreats and resorts around the world. Together, they merge innovation, hospitality, and mindful living to redefine the modern wellness experience.
Flavia Patanè
Contemporary Craft
Jewelry designer from Catania, worked with Alexander McQueen and Moncler before founding her brand P/effe. After training in goldsmithing, she now creates handcrafted silver and bronze jewelry inspired by nature, celebrating slow, intentional craftsmanship and personal storytelling.
Luca Occhipinti
Innovation & Agritech
With over 10 years in digital marketing and as a Marketing Manager in Milan, he specializes in web marketing and communication. His current work is inspired by the significant opportunity to advance digitalization within Sicilian companies and ecosystems.
Helena Medrano
Botanical Art
Helena Medrano is a Spanish artist and educator. Through her brand FUGA, she creates art inspired by plants, place, and slow production. She founded Fuga in 2020, producing wearable and home art from real plant imprints and leading workshops across Sicily. Her current work, Unconventional Botanics, merges art and ecology.
Markus Kneissl and Ketty Minnisale
Wellness and Holistic Health
German–Italian duo, Founders of Energy lab and Equilibrio, guide others toward holistic health by blending movement, Mediterranean-inspired living, and mindfulness to create sustainable strength and balance.
Anita Gentile
Heritage Travel
Cultural project manager and Sicilitude co-founder, dedicated to promoting slow, sustainable tourism in Sicily and helping descendants reconnect with their roots through meaningful, heritage-based experiences.
Linda Norton
Literary Artist
Award-winning author and artist, known for her hybrid works blending poetry, prose, and collage. Her writing explores identity, place, and cultural history, drawing from her Sicilian and Irish roots.
Chiara Lo Zito
Sustainable Gourmet
Sicilian entrepreneur with a background in sustainability. She founded Dagiù to share the authentic flavors and stories of Southern Italy through curated artisanal food experiences. Her work celebrates local producers and connects people to the true taste and spirit of the South.
Diane Piazza
Corporate Events
Born in Morocco, raised between France and Italy, she found her home in Sicily. After years in tourism and remote work, she is now creating a
co-living space designed for professionals seeking connection, balance, and inspiration in Sicily’s authentic setting.
Elisabetta Lampedecchia
Legacy Building
Strategic Advisor & Entrepreneur designing the future of living. Former Chief Strategy Officer at Forbes, she now leads ELUMIVIS® and develops Selya, a Mediterranean model for regenerative living rooted in Sicily’s spirit of renewal.
Linda Sarris
Slow Food Tourism
Greek-American culinary travel expert and author based in Palermo, Sicily. After over a decade as a private chef in New York City, she moved to Italy to embrace a slower, seasonal lifestyle. Linda now leads food tours, sailing trips, and wine retreats across Sicily, sharing her deep connection to local culture and the rhythms of island life.
Carla Ionescu
Ancient Goddess History
Ancient historian and goddess scholar specializing in Artemis of Ephesus. Author of She Who Hunts and She Who Endures, she founded The Artemis Research Centre and leads The Artemis Mapping Project, exploring ancient spirituality through research, storytelling, and digital humanities.
Emily Jane Grant
Theatre Art
Blingual English/French theatre director, performer, and producer based in Sicily. She works with ISTA Global Arts Learning, creating youth festivals and workshops worldwide. With experience across the UK, India, and Switzerland, her work explores storytelling and site-specific performance, connecting people through shared creative experiences.
Marta Santuccio
Inner Alchemy
PhD in the metaphysics of consciousness, guides transformative experiences that awaken presence and deepen self-awareness. Her work bridges metaphysics, embodiment, and self-inquiry to inspire wholeness and connection with self, others, and Nature.
Maria Scarzella Thorpe
Workplace Culture
Italian–Californian Workplace Culture Strategist and Experience Designer. She pioneered one of the first Startup Hotel & coliving communities for international entrepreneurs in San Francisco, and founded Nomad Pass to help distributed companies design intentional culture strategies and plan memorable team retreat experiences in Italy.
Louis Djalili
Filmmaking
London-born writer and director, now based in Sicily after marrying a woman from Acireale, Catania. He has been directing, writing and producing personal and commercial film work since 2019, and is co-founder of the UK film and TV production company Tiny Speck Productions.
He continues to draw inspiration from the resourcefulness of Sicilian creatives — a constant source of motivation.
Josephine Ingoglia
Olive-Oil Sommelier
Born in New York City and rooted in the Valle del Belìce, Josephine left a career in corporate luxury retail to return to her family’s Sicilian heritage. Today, apart from running an olive grove and vineyard with her husband she is a certified olive-oil sommelier and creator of immersive, slow-travel experiences that celebrate the land, traditions, and people of Rural Sicily.
Santo Ali
Intercultural Exchange
Founder at Casa Verdi a transnational house project which aims to hybrid gift economy & traditional economy.
We feel that the latter is merely an excuse to allow the former to trigger the unlimited value potential that results from meaningful human relations & interactions.