The Slow Living Movement: Rejecting Chaos with Simplicity and Embracing Humanism
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The Slow Living Movement: Rejecting Chaos with Simplicity and Embracing Humanism AOC Art of Living
Carlo Petrini and the Slow Living Movement
The concept of slow living has roots in the Italian slow food movement of the 1980s and 1990s, spearheaded by journalist Carlo Petrini.
Protests erupted when the first McDonald's in Italy was slated to open in Rome right by the iconic Spanish Steps. I remember well my own disorientation at the deeply-repulsive idea of a McDonald’s at the foot of the Spanish Steps.
As Yes Magazine reminds us in this 2013 interview with Petrini, a compromise was reached and there were no golden arches jutting overhead across the sidewalk in Rome. This may be one of the most discreet McDonalds ever built anywhere in the world. I note that the battle rages on.
Europe v. America on Slow Living
In the past, Americans and Europeans just do not see a high-quality life in the same way. Slow living is just another word for laziness in the minds of many Americans.
However, in our post-COVID world, accompanied by growing climate violence, there are signals that American attitudes may be changing.
Even financial markets and consulting companies like McKinsey are watching Italian brands in particular, drilling down to two brands very important at Anne of Carversville: Brunello Cucinella and Loro Piana.
