“Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” – Aldous Huxley
We are super happy to introduce Mojo CoHouse, a unique place for hospitality and art, situated in the very centre and most historical part of Palermo.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? But we know you might have a lot of questions! What does CoHousing mean, who is the space for, can I come even if I’m not an artist or a musician..?
Here, let us give you a bit of background and start from the beginning: in this post, we’ll be introducing our visionary founder, Giuseppe Arici, the one that transformed his life experience into the magical place that is Mojo today.
Meet Giuseppe
In 2009, while Giuseppe was still studying architecture and living in different cities around Europe, his father started a major renovation of a historical building in the heart of Palermo that belonged to the Arici family. This building – you guessed it! – was the one where Mojo CoHouse is located today.
When the renovation works ended in 2013, Giuseppe decided to go back to his roots and returned to his hometown to start his own project. He founded a cultural association called CaravanSerai Palermo and became involved in many projects focused on urban regeneration through art, handcraft, culture, and music.
A keen musician himself, he soon started to use some of the spaces of the newly renovated Mojo building to organise cultural events with the association he had founded. Eventually, he decided to move into one of the flats with his cat Nanà and started to rent out the rest of the building – which overall is made of four independent flats and five rooms – as a Bed & Breakfast for tourists and travelers.
Since then, Giuseppe has been toying with the idea of transforming Mojo B&B into something more than just a place for hospitality. Following his passion for music and art, he used to organise small events like jam sessions and intimate concerts in his flat, sometimes involving guests staying at the B&B (often artists or musicians themselves).
from mojo b&b… to Mojo cohouse
The story tells that while spending one year in Berlin, moving around from flat to flat and questioning his life choices, he met his friend Robert, who introduced him to the concept of Mojo.
Mojo literally means ‘a quality that attracts people to you and makes you successful and full of energy’.
According to Robert and Giuseppe, Mojo is the metaphor of “having groove while living” or “surfing the chaos” while always keeping up the good mood. That’s what Giuseppe started to do once he got back to Palermo, and that’s how the concept of Mojo CoHouse was born.
Since then, both Giuseppe and Mojo CoHouse have absorbed the experiences, points of view, and dreams of all travelers, who have left a tangible or intangible mark over time. From the original idea, Mojo has evolved from a simple hospitality place to a meeting point for artists, solo travelers, remote workers and families, and it is now ready to begin a new adventure, always in the name of sharing, socialising, giving back to the community and more!
