Della Medicina

“My immense enthusiasm for the release of Lisa Fazio’s Della Medicina is twofold. It is the perfect choice as a required text for my university course on Italian folk medicine and magic as it will simultaneously educate and enchant my students. Secondly, as the great-granddaughter of an Italian healer, I have long lived with many of the traditions Fazio explores. Lisa Fazio’s expertise as an herbalist and her meticulous research have greatly expanded my own understanding of the remedies passed down through the generations in my family. This book is a must-read for Italian Americans as well as readers from any cultural diaspora seeking to deepen their knowledge of folk healing practices.” * Gina M. Miele, Ph.D., professor specializing in Italian folktales, folklore, and traditions at Montc *
“I have been longing for this magical book my whole life. Lisa Fazio is one of our generation’s greatest teachers of Southern Italian folk medicine. Della Medicina is for everyone drawn to plants and their healing powers and anyone in search of ancestral connection. For those of us from Italy’s many diasporas, this is a pathway home, an invitation to remember.” * Jennifer Guglielmo, author of Living the Revolution: Italian Women’s Resistance and Radicalism *
“This book warms my Southern Italian soul! I love it! What a fascinating apothecary of history, mystical folk knowledge, tools, and inspiration for anyone wanting to draw on one of the most amazing herbalism traditions on the planet to nourish their lives and heal our world. Brava, Lisa Fazio, for honoring the ancestors in a way that shows the universality of their expansive wisdom.” * Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso, Ph.D., author of The Secret Life of Mother Mary and The Mystery Traditio *
“This book dives deeply into how we of the Italian diaspora can reclaim our roots and restore our connection to the earth, which is our true nature. Lisa Fazio weaves the daily with the divine by offering rituals, ceremonies, and healing practices with reverence and wisdom.” * Lisa Masé, nutritionist and author of The Culinary Pharmacy *
“Della Medicina takes us into the deep ancestral energy of magical medicines that have long pervaded the Mediterranean regions, where folk medicine, divination, holy wells, sacred sites, and ancient rituals combined with potent healing plants to bring sweet relief and healing to the peoples of that region. These teachings are also connected to the early burgeoning practices of modern medicine and how our connection to the energetics of plants can still be used to bring about true health and healing.” * Brigitte Mars, author of Natural Remedies for Mental and Emotional Health and Addiction-Free Natural *
“Lisa Fazio’s Della Medicina is a deep exploration of ancestral wisdom through the lens of Italian folk medicine. Drawing from her rich heritage and herbal knowledge, she beautifully illustrates how plants can serve as sacred portals to our ancestral roots. Her holistic approach reminds us that folk medicine is for everyone, transcending cultural, political, and economic boundaries while fostering deep connections with both human and nonhuman communities. This book is a treasure for anyone who loves plants and seeks harmony with the world around them. Lisa’s insights and the accessible plants featured make this a practical and profound guide to inner healing through traditional plant medicine.” * Jenn Campus, anthropologist, animist, and author of A Guide to Celebrating the 12 Days of Yule *
“Lisa Fazio’s book represents the best kind of ancestor work—connection with our beloved ancient kin, the plants; connection through cultural frameworks that are instructions from the lands of our ancestors; and connection that does not try to simplify what is deeply complex.” * Susan Raffo, author of Liberated to the Bone *
“Lisa Fazio’s Della Medicina not only gives readers access to specific spells, prayers, and cures, but painstakingly reconstructs the traditional ecological knowledge and worldview behind Italian vernacular healing practices. Written accessibly for a popular audience, it nonetheless reflects careful scholarship and a thorough understanding of larger forces behind this complex system of knowledge.” * Sabina Magliocco, Ph.D., professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver *