Let’s face it, the trend today is all about “taking it easy” and enjoying life at a different pace. From vacations to food, there are many “slow” movements around, and I reckon a lot of us are directly familiar with some, but did you know that cities can be “slow,” too? Born in Orvieto in 1999 and inspired by the philosophy of Slow Food, the Cittàslow movement began as an experiment in applying the idea of “good, clean, and fair” to the daily life of small towns.
First proposed by Paolo Saturnini, then mayor of Greve in Chianti, and formalized with the mayors of Bra, Orvieto, and Positano together with Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, its aim was to defend the local character, rhythms, and environment of Italian borghi at a time when even rural areas were beginning to experience the same pressures as big cities.
