Della Medicina:

Italian American Folk Medicine Weekend Immersion

with herbalists Lisa Fazio & Lupo Passero

Join us for this in-person weekend immersion, Dates TBA Spring 2024.

Italian Folk Medicine, is referred to, in Italy as "Medicina Popolare”. You are invited to join us, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains for a one-of-a-kind immersion into the history, folklore, and ancient traditions of Italian herbalists and witches. We will learn to how our Italian ancestors used plants every day, for not only for food and medicine but for ceremony, ritual, protection, dreaming and for strengthening familial relations. We will discuss a variety of the use of native medicinal and magical plants of Italy, many which are common to our area here in the Eastern United States. Lisa will share stories and mythologies from the heart of the Mediterranean, of the Sud Italian witches, witchcraft and divine oracles .

During this intimate weekend together we’ll discuss Italian folk medicine and how it is practiced today as well as the way that plants and Traditional Western Herbalism are linked to it. We’ll talk about Italian herbs, herbal preparations, and the way that plants are used culturally. Italian folk medicine includes not only practical treatments for physical ailments but also energetic and spiritual rituals, rites, and practices that emerged from the ancient animistic practices of the Mediterranean, pagan spirituality, and folk Catholicism.

This class will be a combination of discussion and hands on demonstrations.

We are thrilled to have you join us on a this very special two day journey with the plants, the herbs and the ancestors of Italia. Join us as we re-discover how many of our ancestors used the plants for both medicine and magic, learning and practicing Della Medicina, Italian American Folk Medicine together.

Investment

Tuition for this program is $444.00.  Payment can be made in full or in a two-part payment plan.

About Your Instructors

Lisa Fazio

Lisa Fazio is an Irish/Italian American folkloric witch, heretic, herbalist, astrologer, and una donna che aiutana (one who helps). Her primary focus is ancestral revival and remembrance within the Italian American diaspora. She practices the Folk Catholic and animistic traditions of her Italian ancestors who were the original people of Calabria; the Brutti people, and Benevento; the Samnite people. She is a mother of 4 children and Nonna to 2 grandchildren. She is currently writing a book (to be published with Inner Traditions 2024) on Italian American folk medicine. Her philosophy and teachings seek to uplift the understanding of healing as a relational practice that include deassimilation, decolonization, and an end to all systems of social, political, and economic oppression. Her ultimate hope is to do everything in her power to contribute to a more equitable and generative present and future world.

To learn more about Lisa: therootcircle.com

Lupo Passero

Lupo grew up in hardwood forests of the Northeast. Her paternal Grandmother was a wise woman, a Strega, from Italy. Her paternal Great Grandmother came from Knocknashee, the Druid Hill of the Fae, in Ireland. Since childhood she has been studying plants, creating circles, hosting ceremonies, and holding ritual space for others. At 18 she was pulled to the heart of the Appalachian Mountains where she began her botanical studies.  As a young mother, Lupo’s greatest teachers have been her two (now grown) children. Her humble beginning with herbs and flower essences as a young mother in the 90's inspired her to learn and go on to teach others. For over two decades Lupo has had the privilege to teach thousands of students, in both Asheville NC, CT/NYC area as well as around the globe, the art of energetic and spiritual herbalism. Her recent trip to Sicily to visit her homeland, with Lisa (and MaryBeth Bonfiglio) as her guides, has greatly deepened her love and connection to her Sud Italian heritage and reclaiming her birthplace as a American Italian Strega. A true a teacher at heart, Lupo continues to deepened her relationship within her own lineage, as well as many others, by sitting at the feet of and hosting as many teachers as possible.