Slow is better

We live in a age in which with a touch of a handyou can download from the web a wide range of knowledge and information. On the other hand, the global economy is continuing to level out differences in culture and aspiration. Carlo Petrini, Slow Food and the Terra Madre project believe that it is possible to use the web for the benefit of small communities by exchanging experiences, culture, best practices and projects. This is the starting point of Cittaslow, the International association of cities in which living is easy and founded in Orvieto in October1999.

From the Cittaslow Manifesto:
Setting up a world-wide network to share best practice of slow town government. From the experience of Slow food and Cittaslow, a new cultural and scientific approach was born: from food to agriculture, from agriculture to the environment, from the environment to dwelling space. Slow town is at the centro, of “slow” lands and a new awareness”(...)

Towns retaining the spirit of their community

Today all Cittaslow towns may not be perfect, but they are towns which under influence of Slow Food try to make the most of the modern age while retaining the spirit of their community. From the original idea of Paolo Saturnini - past mayor of Greve in Chianti - that the mayors of some towns should join together and with Slow Food for the grand shared project of Cittaslow, even though this project might seem unrealistic in this age of speed. Since its beginning the association has grown to about a hundred towns in eleven countries. It links administrators, citizens and members who want to share common experiences, extending the project from good quality of food to include questions of sustainability, hospitality and social services. It aims to promote a new kind of farming and to support the ethical consumer. The goal of Cittaslow is to maintain their identity and the spirit of the community in the face of today’s problems, using the best aspects of globalisation without sacrificing themselves.