The History Of Slow Living

A brief look back at where this movement began, and where it's going.

The birds are chirping, I can hear the clink of knives and forks being cleaned in preparation for dinner, and there’s a light breeze in the air. I’m sitting on my lawn chair on the porch of my hotel room overlooking Lake Maggiore, in the northern region of Italy. There’s no sound of highways or smell of gas, no honking horns or people rushing to and from work. I can see a row of hammocks, and the other guests taking their afternoon naps. There is a simplistic perfection to this afternoon as if there was nothing before and nothing to come. There is only now.

I spent significant time in Italy growing up, so it feels like another home to me. But, we haven’t visited for an extended period in almost 10 years. Between graduations and college and babies and weddings and covid, there just hasn’t been a chance for my family to return. So it feels almost indulgent to be here now. Like I’m keeping a secret, holding this place I love so tight I almost can’t share it.

Italy was where I came to when I was a teenager, very much against my wishes and telling my parents how I was going to miss out on all the summer activities my friends were doing back home. But, they insisted we come. And so we did. By the end of the trip, each and every time, I would feel significantly lighter. As if whatever was going on at home didn’t really matter to me because all that mattered was here. I am so grateful that my parents showed me the world because it reminded me that when mine felt small, I only had to remember that it’s a small piece of a much larger ecosystem.

That’s what Italy gives me. A sense of peace. Of purpose, even, in finding myself.

No, in re-discovering myself.

When I peel back those layers of busy, commitments, and daily tasks, I’m left with what? The essence of who I truly am.

Italians are masters at slow living. And it was Italy that was home to the first wave of slow living, through food, of course.

Back in 1986, Italy was faced with its first introduction to convenience with the proposition of a McDonald’s opening in the heart of Rome. Activist and author, Carlo Petrini, was so disgusted by this possibility that he decided to organize a demonstration on the intended site, and thus, the Slow Food movement was formed. In 1989, the Slow Food movement was officially created with the Slow Food Manifesto being signed.

The initial aim was to defend regional food traditions and a slower pace of life. In over two decades of history, the movement has evolved to now embrace an approach to food that honors the balance between plate, planet, people, politics, and culture. The Slow Food movement now has thousands of projects and millions of supporters in over 160 countries.

It wasn’t until journalist Carl Honoré wrote In Praise of Slow in 2004 that Slow Food expanded to the overarching idea of Slow Living and became mainstream. Honoré explores how Slow Food sparked a broader slow living movement with ‘slow’ now being applied to other areas of life including work, parenting, and leisure.

Nowadays, you can find almost any area of life including a ‘slow’ in the title, from slow fashion to slow gardening, slow interiors, slow fitness, slow travel, and so much more. To me, it is the ultimate testament to how slow living can be applied in any area of life, and we can all benefit from going against the grain of current society.

I feel lucky that I was able to discover slow living on my own, in the birthplace of its origin, growing up. I’ve realized that when I fill my plate and use busyness as a badge of honor in my life, I am only ever really running from myself.

Slow living is that return, one that I continue to work at each and every day. I am grateful to those that carved the path, and I look forward to continuing their work with a movement of my own, in my unique slow way.

I’d love to hear from you about when or how you discovered slow living. What does it mean to you? How are you applying it (or wanting to apply it) to your life? How are you embracing slowness?

And if you’re interested, here are some other resources on the history of Slow Living:
- Slow Living LDN
- Slow Travel UK
- Sloww