Meet Elissa Cirignotta, Sicilian Magic Curator
This is my dream come true. It’s a returning to my favorite place on Earth and an opportunity to showcase & celebrate the cuisine, landscape, culture, rituals, & beauty of the Sicilian land & people.
My Background
I'm a second generation Sicilian/American and have spent my entire life going back and forth between my smalltown Sicilian fishing village and all over the United States. Never fully knowing where I belong. And always longing to return back to Sicilia.
I have a big unruly wonderful loud Sicilian family. They drive me crazy and I love them for it. I come from a family of farmers, breadmakers, pizza makers, and fisherman. I’m one of the first in my family to leave Sicily and get a higher education. It was a motivating factor that helped me push through my undergraduate and graduate studies. I spent 10+ years working as an Educator in the public school system before I launched Happy Mindful People. For a decade I created Movement & Mindfulness curriculum for kids & adults, counseled other educators on how to implement my curriculum into their classrooms, wrote a lot about health, wellness, & lifestyle, and taught thousands of yoga classes.
In 2016 I went back to Sicily after my longest stint away. It was one magnificent homecoming. It was on that trip that I dreamed up the idea to combine the things I love the most into a magically curated experience for others. Sicily, cuisine, culture, wellness, intentional movement, plant medicine, creative writing, nourishing practices, community, self care & self acceptance. And boom just like that, these retreats were birthed.
Shortly after I launched and ran an epic sold out retreat (while 6 months pregnant) I gave birth to my first born son and needed to hit pause. Then the pandemic shut down my next sold out retreat. A year later I grew and birthed another wee human and required a pause again.
Today, these retreats wouldn’t be possible without the love, support, and presence of my husband Grego and our two little guys, Giovanni & Luca, and the unconditional love, support, & assistance of my Sicilian friends & family. I continue on with this dream because it keeps me and my children connected to our heritage, homeland, language, stories, and family. These retreats simultaneously heal me and bring me incredible joy.
I can’t wait to meet you in Sicily.
My Vision
I am a change-maker, visionary entrepreneur. I believe we are all creative beings who can live joyful abundant lives.
I’d like to live a life of love. To teach love, be loved, learn love, feel love, give love...
I’ve been in a passionate love affair with Siclia since the beginning of my memory. My goal is to create safe spaces that promote joy, movement, ,deep rich connections, healing, and love. For it is through self healing we will find global transformation.
I hope to share my love, knowledge, & connection of/to this land, these people, this sea with others who are ready to experience her.
Meet your Co-Curator for
Easter in Sicily
Victoria Granof
Director/Food Creative/Author of Sicily my Sweet
Victoria Granof is one of Cherry Bombe's 100 most inspiring women in food. And it's no wonder. She began her career as a cordon bleu-trained chef with a degree in visual arts. After a decade-long collaboration with the late Irving Penn, she found her way to Creative Direction and food styling. Known for making wildly clever and meaningful imagery and concepts she decided to expand her vision to directing and storytelling. She has collaborated on books (with among others) the late Anthony Bourdain, Marcus Samuelsson, and Mark Bittman, as well as authoring her own cookbooks.
“Elissa is one of those rare, multi-faceted gems which, when exposed to the sun, never ceases producing new and exciting sparkles. She is the epitome of selflessness and genuine empathy and kindness. Her drive, commitment, and enthusiasm are never-ending sources of inspiration and encouragement in my life, as well as many others. Anyone who is blessed with knowing Elissa will forever be softened and warmed; she is a woman to be watched. ”
— Jesse Soto, Portland Oregon
“I believe Elissa Cirignotta entered my life to remind me how beautiful life is. She has a way of looking at the world and seeing beauty in the most mundane and ordinary things and more importantly, she has a very special talent for getting others to see that beauty through her eyes. Her heart and spirit are so full of goodness that it overflows into everything and everyone she encounters. Elissa Cirignotta goes out of her way to spread love, peace, and harmony.
Elissa is one of the bravest women I know. She had a good, lucrative job as an Educational Facilitator for students with special needs and was very, very good at what she did. No one would have ever guessed that that was not what she was put on this earth to do. But, it was not. Elissa had bigger dreams. She quit her job to embark on a great adventure to pursue her passion of exploring one’s own personal strength through yoga and getting others to do the same, starting with the world’s most precious investment; children, all the while pursuing her love of writing. Elissa Cirgnotta should be an inspiration to all women who have a dream, but may be too scared to pursue it because they are perfectly content and probably very good at their existing job.
Since I met Elissa Cirgnotta, I have become a stronger, healthier person who has a new appreciation for the life I was so willing to throw away. She has taught me to never settle for the status quo, to believe in the power of the universe, to live for every precious moment, and to embrace life. I am forever grateful to consider her a friend and spiritual sister.”
— Diane McLean, Broadway Virginia
“Elissa has a warm and generous spirit that attracts others to her. People enjoy sharing in her ebullient, positive energy, and they recognize that she enjoys sharing their company as well. She overcomes personal and professional obstacles with optimism, grace, and humor and inspires others to do the same. I have traveled across the country twice and to various corners of the world with Elissa, and there never was dull moment, nor a contentious one. ”
— Eileen Campbell, Washington DC