About the Founder

The Secret Explorer was founded by Anita Cagnazzo in 2023,  and is driven by a deep passion for the people, culture, and landscapes of Italy’s southern regions. Inspired by meaningful human connection and a desire to reveal a more authentic side of Italy, Anita has created a travel consultancy centered on personalization, cultural and artistic depth, and a true sense of place.

After graduating from high school in Italy in 2013, Anita moved to the United Kingdom to study International Relations with Spanish at the University of Birmingham. During her studies, she spent a year at Universidad Complutense de Madrid before returning to the U.K., where she graduated with a First-Class Joint Honours Degree. Her academic path also included several exchange programmes in France, China, and the United States. In January 2020, she completed an MSc in Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Throughout her career, Anita has worked in international and multicultural environments. Her professional experience includes roles at the Italian Honorary Consulate in Liverpool, an international marketing firm in Birmingham, the British Council in Valencia, and as a content creator and Italian citizenship specialist for Italian Citizenship Assistance. Since 2013, she has also worked as a freelance interpreter, translator, and English teaching assistant.

Alongside her academic and professional work, Anita has cultivated a strong interest in storytelling and communication. She has attended creative writing courses and seminars at Scuola Holden in Turin, and some of her short stories have been published in Italian literary magazines and in a national anthology. She has also participated in training sessions in ethnopsychiatry at Scuola Etno-Sistemico-Narrativa in Rome, and her interest in human connection and communication has led her to pursue certification in Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

In 2023, Anita completed the design of a development project in Cameroon as a United Nations volunteer.

Anita has traveled extensively across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe – including Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, India, Morocco, Turkey, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Oman, Cameroon, and numerous European countries. Through these journeys, she has closely observed how different cultures welcome travelers and create meaningful and unique travel experiences.

This global perspective, combined with deep first-hand knowledge of Italy’s lesser-known southern gems, allows her to design journeys that are both intuitive and intentionally crafted, tailored to a wide range of travel styles and expectations.

Every itinerary includes a signature “Secret Experience”: a thoughtfully curated surprise created exclusively for each traveler. Shaped around personal interests and the spirit of each destination, these intimate moments reveal a deeper side of Italy that few travelers ever see.