Slow Living in Puglia: A Nervous System Reset
Letizia Silvestri spent the summer of 2026 leading sessions across Europe: Mindvalley U in Tallinn, several Hypno-Sound Baths at Hotel Col Alto in Corvara, and another at Hotel Ancora during Cortina in Wellness. In September, the Board-Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, sound healer and founder of Altha chose ten days of slow living in Puglia, a region she has known since childhood.
She stayed at Masseria Cuturi, a 17th-century estate near Manduria set among vineyards, old olive trees and the Cuturi woods. “I came here to find balance again,” she told the Italian outlet RTM. During the stay she met the mayor of Manduria, Domenico Sammarco, to discuss the city’s candidacy for Italian Capital of Culture 2029, and Manduria Oggi introduced her to its readers as the hypnotherapist of the international jet set.
What the Grape Harvest Teaches About Presence
The stay fell during the vendemmia, the grape harvest, and she joined it the traditional way: picking the grapes by hand and treading them underfoot.
Harvesting is demanding physical work, and it grounds attention in the body. The hands are full, the feet are in the fruit, and there is no room for a screen. Two more crafts of the hands marked the stay: a cooking class at the masseria and a guided visit to Grottaglie, a town built on centuries of ceramics.
Sunrise on Punta Prosciutto: Horses, Heart Coherence and Connection
One of the highlights was a sunrise ride on horseback along Punta Prosciutto, a long stretch of pale sand and dunes on the Ionian coast, a short drive from the estate.
A horse responds to its rider’s breath and muscle tension, so riding well starts with calming the body. Heart coherence is the term for the steady, ordered heart rhythm that appears in calm, focused states. Researchers at the University of Pisa have recorded the heart rhythms of humans and horses synchronising during contact, an early finding that supports what riders describe as connection. Time with animals has also been linked to lower stress markers, with oxytocin, the bonding hormone, as a likely reason.
The other days were spent close to the sea: a boat tour off Taranto, the city between two seas, organised with the Lega Navale Italiana di Taranto, and a visit to Ostuni, the white town above the Adriatic. Research links around two hours a week in nature with better health and wellbeing. The estate offers that immersion overnight too: its glamping site sets bell tents between the Cuturi woods and the vineyards.
Sound Baths in the Old Barn: Why Hospitality Teams Need Recovery
During the stay, Letizia Silvestri also led a series of sound baths for the Masseria Cuturi team in the estate’s old barn.
Harvest is the most intense time of year on a wine estate, and hospitality is demanding in every season: early starts, late finishes and constant attention to other people. The teams behind a property need recovery too.
A sound bath requires no effort. People lie down, close their eyes and follow the sound. In one early study, participants reported less tension and fatigue after a single singing bowl session. Altha brings the same sessions to luxury hotels and corporate wellness programmes, for guests and for the teams who look after them.
How the Hypno-Sound Bath Works
Manual work, animals, nature and sound all give attention one place to rest. Clinical hypnosis uses the same state deliberately: focused attention, with awareness of everything else turned down.
The Hypno-Sound Bath, Letizia Silvestri’s signature method, combines clinical hypnotherapy with live sound healing in a 60-minute session. Guided hypnotic language directs attention while gong, crystal alchemy bowls, Tibetan singing bowls, ocean drum and chimes hold it there. One session can be restorative. Lasting change through hypnotherapy typically takes six to eight.
Between sessions, slow living comes down to four simple practices:
Hands: one manual task a day with no screen, such as cooking, gardening or working with clay
Animals: unhurried time with an animal, with attention on its pace instead of your own
Nature: around two hours outdoors each week
Self-hypnosis: five to six minutes a day once learned
Letizia Silvestri leads Hypno-Sound Bath sessions for luxury hotels, retreats, events and corporate teams across Europe. Upcoming dates are listed at altha.com/events.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A. Slow living means doing fewer things with more attention, often outdoors and away from screens. It has not been tested as a single intervention, but its parts, including time in nature, manual activity and contact with animals, are each associated with better wellbeing or lower stress markers in published research.
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A. Heart coherence describes a steady, ordered pattern in heart rhythm that tends to appear during calm, focused states and slow breathing. Early studies have also recorded heart rhythm synchronisation between humans and horses during contact, though this research is still preliminary.
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A. Hospitality and corporate roles combine long hours with constant attention to other people. Early research on sound baths reports lower self-rated tension and fatigue after a session. Team sessions give staff a shared, structured hour of rest. They complement fair workloads and time off and do not replace them.
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A. The Hypno-Sound Bath is Letizia Silvestri’s signature 60-minute method. It combines clinical hypnotherapy with live sound from gong, crystal alchemy bowls, Tibetan singing bowls, ocean drum and chimes. Guided hypnotic language directs attention while the sound provides a continuous sensory anchor.
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A. Letizia Silvestri works internationally with luxury hotels, retreats, events and corporate teams. In 2026 her sessions included Mindvalley U in Tallinn, Hotel Col Alto in Corvara, Hotel Ancora in Cortina d’Ampezzo and Mandarin Oriental properties in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Upcoming dates and locations are listed at altha.com/events.
