Our Mission
Welcome—you have found your place. The Gratitude Spot is where personal growth meets cultural understanding. Set in the Sabine hills, it offers space to slow down, reflect, and engage—through retreats, workshops, shared meals, and conversations that broaden perspective and deepen connection.
Bringing together people from different backgrounds and ways of thinking, it invites you to show up fully: curious, open, and authentic. A place to belong, to learn from one another, and to grow—individually and together – carried by a shared sense of openness, curiosity, and belonging.
The Gratitude Spot is also a smoke-free and plant-based environment, reflecting a commitment to clarity, wellbeing, and respect for the land and those who gather here.
Our Event Spaces
At The Gratitude Spot, every space has a heart, heritage and soul —rooted in the timeless rhythm of the Sabine hills and inspired by the quiet wisdom of the olive tree. Together, these three environments—The Farmhouse, Il Palazzo, and Monteleone & the Surrounding Area—create a journey inward and outward, inviting guests to ground, expand, and ultimately to flourish.
The Farmhouse - The Roots
The Farmhouse is where everything begins. Built in 1890 and nestled gently among ancient olive groves, it carries the quiet, steady energy of the land itself. This is a place of grounding—like the deep, unseen roots of an olive tree that anchor, nourish, and sustain life through centuries.
Here, time slows. The air feels softer, the light more golden, and the connection to nature more immediate. Surrounded by trees that have stood for generations, guests are invited to come back to themselves—to strip away the noise and reconnect with what is essential and true. The presence of a natural water source adds to this sense of purity and renewal, offering a subtle but powerful reminder of life’s constant flow. Our generous, purpose-built pool doesn’t hurt either!
At the heart of The Farmhouse lies the Ashtakona, the octagonal gazebo and spiritual foundation of The Gratitude Spot. This sacred space is designed for stillness, reflection, yoga, and meditation—a place where inner alignment can gently unfold. Whether in silence or shared practice, the Ashtakona holds a quiet energy that supports clarity, presence, and grounding.
The Farmhouse is not about doing; it is about being. It is where guests arrive, exhale, and begin to root themselves—into the land, into the moment, and into their own inner landscape. Like the roots of the olive tree, this space provides the foundation for everything that follows.
Il Palazzo - The Branches
If The Farmhouse is where you root, Il Palazzo is where you expand.
Built in 1460 as an integrated part of the Palazzo Selli Gamberi, Il Palazzo carries with it a rich and layered history. It is said that Giuseppe Garibaldi, the father of modern Italy, once slept within its walls—adding a sense of quiet significance and legacy to the space. Today, that same energy of boldness and vision lives on, transformed into a place of creativity, expression, and connection.
Il Palazzo represents the branches of the olive tree—reaching outward, exploring new directions, and expressing the fullness of life. Here, ideas are shared, voices are heard, perspectives are widened, and creativity is given room to breathe. It is a space for workshops, cross-cultural exchange, conversations, collaboration, and inspiration.
The architecture itself speaks to expansion: high ceilings, sunlit rooms, and a sense of history and heritage that invites reflection while encouraging forward movement. There is a subtle invitation here—to step into your own expression more fully and take up space, to express with conviction and clarity, to engage with curiosity and cultural intelligence and explore what yearns to emerge.
Where The Farmhouse draws you inward, Il Palazzo gently asks you to extend outward—to connect your inner truth with the world around you. It is a place of courage and creativity, where guests can explore new perspectives, deepen relationships across cultures, and begin to shape what comes next with greater awareness and intention.
Monteleone & the Surrounding Area – The Leaves
Beyond the walls of The Gratitude Spot lies the wider landscape of Monteleone Sabino and the surrounding Sabine hills—an area rich in beauty, history, and authentic Italian life. This is the final layer of the journey: the leaves of the olive tree, where everything comes into full expression and connection with the world.
Just an hour north of Rome, this region offers a rare combination of tranquility and cultural depth. Medieval architecture, ancient Roman ruins, and sweeping panoramic views create a setting that feels both grounded in history and alive with possibility. Wandering through the village streets, sharing a coffee with locals, or exploring nearby archaeological sites, guests are invited to step into a rhythm of life that is simple, human, and deeply connected.
Monteleone is not just a backdrop—it is an integral part of the experience. It offers the opportunity to engage with community, to experience authentic Italian culture, and to feel a sense of belonging that extends beyond the event itself.
Like the leaves of the olive tree, this space represents flourishing. It is where the nourishment from the roots and the expansion of the branches come together to create something vibrant and alive. Guests are encouraged to integrate their experience, to connect with others, and to carry a sense of openness, acceptance and appreciation into the wider world.
A Living System
Together, these three spaces form a living system—a natural flow from grounding to expansion to connection. The Farmhouse anchors you. Il Palazzo opens you. Monteleone invites you to flourish.
The Gratitude Spot is not just a place; it is a journey. One that mirrors nature’s own design—foundational roots, extending branches, and thriving leaves—and invites each guest to reconnect with themselves, with others, and with life in its fullest expression, carried gently by presence, connection, and belonging.
About Your Host
Helen Bannigan
Helen Bannigan is the founder of The Gratitude Spot, a concept 25 years in the making that brings together personal growth, cultural understanding, and global leadership. She hosts retreats, workshops, musical and sound experiences and other events with a warm, grounded style shaped by a lifelong practice of gratitude, mindfulness, and intentional living.
Helen is a Global Leadership and Cultural Intelligence coach, trainer, facilitator, and public speaker, working with organizations worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies. Her work focuses on inclusive leadership, cross-cultural collaboration, and mindful global communication. She also supports clients through coaching in executive presence, team effectiveness, and cultural intelligence.
A trained Vipassana meditation practitioner in multiple countries, Helen has led meditation and wellbeing practices for over 30 years. She is also certified in Forest Bathing (guide), Reiki (practitioner), Wilderness & Emergency First Aid, and Coaching in Inclusive Leadership and Disability Confidence.
Over the years, Helen has been consistently drawn to bringing people together in meaningful ways: from hosting Italiano a Tavola language exchange dinners, to organising Eurocircle networking events for expats across Europe, to co-founding the International Community Fair — raising awareness of small businesses in Rome. Wherever she found herself, Helen passionately connected people from all walks of life.
Having lived in seven countries and worked across approximately thirty more through international assignments, Helen brings a deeply lived understanding of cultural complexity. She is often described as a “cultural bridge-builder,” helping people connect across differences with curiosity, kindness and respect. In addition to her native English, she speaks Italian, French, conversational Spanish and Portuguese, and is currently learning Mandarin Chinese.
Her approach is shaped by a personal history that spans continents and cultures. Raised in a globally connected family—with roots in China, the United States, and Europe—Helen grew up immersed in diverse perspectives and conversations about identity, purpose, and belonging. This early foundation, combined with extensive travel and independent exploration across Europe in her twenties, shaped her belief that there is more that connects us than separates us.
Helen brings this philosophy into her work today —whether guiding executives in global leadership or hosting healing gatherings at The Gratitude Spot—creating spaces where people from all backgrounds can meet, learn from one another, and grow with openness, presence, and humanity.
And now, she is coming home to Italy — to the country where her children were born, and to the inspiring hilltop village of Monteleone Sabino where they grew up, where she has long nurtured deep and lasting relationships with the local community. She is coming home, too, to the work she has always loved: bringing people together, this time rooted in the very place where so much of it began. And perhaps most profoundly, she is coming home to herself — to the understanding that home is not a geography but a way of being: in full alignment with one’s purpose, held by gratitude, and lived with joy.
About The Gratitude Spot
The Gratitude Spot was born from Helen’s desire to create a safe, inspiring, and joyful place for people to recharge and reconnect—with themselves and with others—within a welcoming community of curious, open-minded humans. A kind of benvenuti a casa—welcome home, Italian-style.
The idea of creating a retreat space first came to Helen when she moved from Spain to Italy in 2001. She sensed there was something special about this Mediterranean way of life—its emphasis on la bella vita (the good life), on connection, on the beauty of nature, and on the understanding that time is precious. It’s no accident that the Slow Food movement began in Italy, or that sprezzatura—the art of effortless living—is woven into daily life. There is a natural rhythm here: slowing down, savoring good food and wine (and coffee!), and enjoying it all in the company of friends—and soon-to-be friends.
In 2012, Helen and her family moved to Hong Kong. Living in Sai Kung, she was struck by the ever-changing light over the South China Sea. There was one particular view she named The Gratitude Spot (pictured here), pointing it out daily to her two children and encouraging them to pause, take it in, and feel grateful.
From this simple ritual grew the family tradition of the Gratitude Jar. Notes of appreciation—big and small—were written, shared, and celebrated, from “our dog wagging her whole body when she’s happy,” to “Dad reading my favorite books,” to “pizza,” “sunshine,” and, of course, “The Gratitude Spot.” It became a way of noticing, of pausing, and of coming back to what matters.
Years later, after another move to the UK, children grown, and life taking its many turns, the pull toward creating a meaningful space returned—this time with intense clarity. With the purchase of two properties in the Italian countryside, it became evident that Italy was calling Helen back. And so, The Gratitude Spot in Monteleone Sabino was born.
Today, The Gratitude Spot offers training, retreats, workshops, and cultural gatherings that invite you to move, to pause, to learn, to share, to be inspired, and to connect. From meditation and cultural exploration to shared meals made with organic, locally-sourced ingredients paired with Italian wines, each experience is designed with care. There is space for reflection, for compelling conversation, and, of course, for a few good laughs along the way.
You are invited to shape your own experience—whether you come to pause and recharge, to create and be inspired, to connect and grow, or to gather, collaborate, and explore new ideas. Your own version of la dolce vita—the sweet life, lived in a way that feels true to you.
Wherever you are in the world, we look forward to welcoming you home to Monteleone.
The Gratitude Spot in bella Italia awaits.
Incontri con la Comunità — Encounters with the Local Community
The Gratitude Spot is a space for connection with the local community and Monteleone’s rich heritage. Guests are invited to interact with residents, their stories, and the rhythms of the Sabine hills—offering a deeper sense of place and belonging.
