{Vivere il} Paese

Live the village

JUNE 15 - JUNE 23, 2025

A 9 day experience in Petralia Sottana and the Madonie Mountains where we learn how to re-village ourselves, make things together, eat a lot, and be in some serious joy and celebration of the Sicilian Spirit. 

Discover the Heart of Sicily: An Immersive Journey Into Ancestral Arts and Village Life

an immersion in slow, traditional food, authentic culture, and arts in a Sicilian village.

Are you dreaming of stepping into a world where time slows, senses awaken, and the rhythm of life takes on a new, sacred cadence? 

This isn’t just a retreat or a tour — this is a gathering, a celebration, and a deep reconnection to the essence of being human done on the magical island of Sicily — where Sicilian culture holds and teaches us.

We gather to honor the village, one another, and the whispers of our ancestors.

This experience isn’t about sightseeing or “touring” - this is the original Radici Siciliane experience and it’s about being welcomed deep within culture. It’s about being seen— by the land, the people, and the ancient ways that have nurtured community for centuries.

The Call of the Island

You will be welcomed to our beloved gathering, lovingly guided by Sicily herself. This immersion is known behind the scenes as Vidiennu Faciennu— “we take it as it comes” — this immersion invites you to embrace spontaneity and surrender and the non-linear ways of a different kind of “time”. 

While we plan thoughtfully, the deeper lesson lies in letting go and allowing each day to unfold, led by the soil, spirit, and stories of the land.

This is not a place for rigid schedules or pre-packaged itineraries. Instead, it’s a space to divest from the noise of hyper-production, the hustle, the over planned schedule and individualism, and to re-map ourselves through the wisdom of the village.

Together, we become the village within the village.

The Journey Into Paese

Here, the ancestral arts come alive — weaving their way into your heart and hands.

Through making, sensing, and simply being in relationship, we invite the ancestors to guide us back to our deepest truths.

The entire journey is centered around an ancient ritual that takes place in the village of Petralia Sottana — the processione and festival for l’eremita - the hermit- also known as San Calogero. This time period evokes ancient ways of being and is an example of what public ritual and celebration does for the soul of a place and people.  

Here’s what makes this journey unforgettable:

  • Re-Villaging

    Every moment here is an invitation — to listen, to repair, to reweave yourself back into the fabric of community. We will learn from village artists, elders, and teachers and immerse in their traditions and stories.

  • Celebration & Ceremony

    Partake in an ancient procession for the hermit healer of the caves and celebrate with food, music, movement, and laughter. This is a unique gift to experience— to watch how community deepl rituals together is transformational.

  • Hands-On Experiences

    Learn the timeless traditions of making with your hands. Baskets, cheese, ceramics, protection amulets — the things are ancestors made and people still make today.

  • Ancestral Storytelling

    Share ancestral stories that connect you to something greater. We will carve our time to sit in circle in the forest and share our own ancestral stories, and tend to them in deeply healing ways.

  • Rest & Integration

    Reconnect to the wisdom your body already knows deep inside. We will do our best to rest, float in the sea, take a slow aperitivo, wander in nature.

  • The Food

    Eat, make and learn about traditional foods— our bellies will be full and we will hold the food as village medicine. The food is a portal to this beautiful island.

The Heart of Petralia Sottana

Our gathering takes place in Petralia Sottana, a remote village nestled in Sicily’s Madonie Mountains. Far from the bustling cities, this ancient community lives in proud connection to its land, animals, and ancestral ways. They are seasonal living, eating and being .

Here, the rhythms of village life will seep into your soul. You’ll feel the blessing of being welcomed into authentic Sicilian culture — from reverence for food to ancestral veneration. Slowly, you’ll notice a new rhythm forming in your own body — one grounded in connection, presence, and belonging.

Our prayer is simple yet profound:

To initiate ourselves through ancestral wisdom.

To tend to our longings and reawaken forgotten ways of togetherness.

To create a space where the perfect group of souls gathers to experience what “becoming the village” truly means.

To make with our hands and fill our bellies with 0 kilometer food (hyper local) and partake in an ancient ritual. 

As we share our grief, joy, curiosity, and love, we allow Sicily’s spirit — and her people — to hold us.

Together, we embrace the essence of what makes this land uniquely Sicilian, honoring their traditions while becoming good guests to this ancient culture.

Become the Village

This experience is for those longing to go beyond the surface, to be held by the land, its people, and its stories. It’s for seekers ready to practice togetherness, embrace nuance, and celebrate the brilliance of Sicily.

Let the village guide you home — to yourself, to community, and to a deeper way of being.

Join us in this one-of-a-kind immersion, where you’ll not just visit Sicily…you’ll become part of its living, breathing story.

Let’s live the village together.  

We have only 8 spots available.

What Is Included

  • Accommodation from the evening of June 15 until the morning of June 23rd.

  • 21 meals, including all breakfasts and most dinners. All wine and water included at meals. 

  • All transport during the immersion. 

  • A licensed tour guide/driver 

  • A large, comfortable air conditioned van

  • A local translator

  • All experiences with local teachers and admission fees into natural parks

  • All workshops and learning 

What Is Not Included

  • Accommodations on the evening of June 14 - which we suggest getting because we meet early morning on the 15ht. As well as accommodations past our last day together (the 23rd). 

  • Transport from airport (to city center where we meet on 15th- though it may be possible to drop you off at the airport on the 23rd if timing is aligned—you may want to stay another evening in Catania.

  • 3 meals (out of 21).

Investment: 

$4440 per person  (shared room)

(Supplement $600 for a single room, please email to request this option)

We offer both pay in full and four-month payment plan options. 

Questions?

Learn about our cultural agreements here.

Learn about redistributing money in Sicily here.

Want to know which immersion is right for you? Click here.

Want support traveling before or after Radici immersions? Send us an email.

MaryBeth Bonfiglio

your co-guide and container holder:

I’m a second-generation Sicani and Lucani, from Sicily and southern Italy and also from the pastoralists of Northern Italy. My maternal grandmother gave me the gift of Położna (midwifery) from Poland. I was raised by the working class, culturally intact, slowly assimilated and vibrant immigrant communities in small towns in Upstate NY, the land of the Eries people. My mother worried. My father was a Sicilian American bookie. My mother was devoted to La Madonna. My father was a witch. I founded Radici Siciliane to both facilitate reconnection work for those with Italian roots, but also to share the gifts of this culture, the deep living wisdom, with anyone who has an open heart and mind.

Read my full bio here.

Testimonials

  • MaryBeth did such a beautiful job of accompanying the group of us into an open journey full of rich experiences.It has become a significant value along the path of discovering who I am. I felt a deep level of connection immediately to the land, and to the people drawn together with me.

    ~N.G., 2024

  • Just come on the trip. If you’ve been thinking about it but you’re not sure you’ll fit in for whatever reason, take a chance - come on the trip. This island has so much to teach you if you are willing to receive it, and it’s will be a beautiful experience. 

    ~S.N., 2024

  • The spirit of the Sicilian people- warm, generous, exuberant, and resilient. Every experience was deeply embodied - I felt so connected to my flesh and blood, the land, the ancestors.

    ~A.S., 2024