Slow travel in Italy

Slow travel sprang – gently, of course – from the slow food movement, which originated in Italy as part of a campaign to block a McDonald’s from opening near Rome’s Spanish Steps. But it’s out of the cities, in the countryside from Piedmont in the Italian Alps to Umbria and Tuscany further south, that slow travel really comes into its own.

Both small group and tailor made vacations roam historic towns and villages in these regions, often on foot. Pause to sample cheese, wine and olive oil, mingle with local shoppers at farmers’ markets, and learn how to create seasonal dishes with cooking lessons run by your hosts. You may prefer the thought of a tailor made trip so that you can set your own schedule, but even small group tours in Italy follow a stately pace, as if falling into the countryside’s natural rhythms.

In keeping with the spirit of slow travel, there’s no need to set foot inside an airport. You can get to Turin in Piedmont from almost anywhere in Europe by train in a single day. If traveling from London, you can stop for lunch in Paris and be in Tuscany or Umbria late the following morning after a leisurely breakfast.

Though it’s certainly no stranger to the limelight, Umbria still feels undiscovered compared to neighbouring Tuscany.

It’s a little easier to escape the crowds in this bountiful region in the heart of Italy. Patrizia, sister Cristina and family organise relaxed cooking tours in Umbria that make the most of the region’s gourmet reputation. They source their ingredients from markets, wineries, organic farms and their own garden, and offer lessons that can be adapted for vegetarians and vegans.

Your hosts, never happier than when showing people around their own communities, may take you to Orvieto, known for its Classico white wines, a village famed for saffron, and across into neighbouring Tuscany, to hilltop Pienza, where a renowned type of pecorino cheese originates.

“We shop at farmers’ markets where you get a lot of small producers all the time,” says Patrizia. “It’s not only organic food, as not everyone can afford to pay for that certification, but it’s very good quality food and drink. Not all of them speak perfect English but they are always happy to talk to you about what you’re buying for your packed lunches. And, of course, without this support these local producers are at risk of disappearing.”

As is often the case in Italy (and you’ll hear no complaints from us), slow travel vacations tend to revolve around food and drink. Sampling it. Talking about it. Dreaming about it during a postprandial nap. Making plans for what to try the following day. You get the picture.

One day you might be wandering the narrow pedestrianised streets of Montepulciano to find an enoteca (wine shop) in the main square where you can revive with a glass of the region’s famous Tuscan red. The handsome 15th-century town of Pienza, birthplace of Pope Pius II, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its magnificent Renaissance architecture as well as a renowned variety of pecorino cheese made with the aromatic sheep milk of the Val d’Orcia.

Visit the frantoio (olive mill) in San Quirico d’Orcia, a town that produces a sublime extra virgin oil. Elsewhere, hilltop Montalcino is well-known for the red wine, Brunello, that comes from the surrounding vineyards.

“We always try to seek out family-owned guest houses and small hotels in Tuscany and Umbria,” says Patrizia. “And we aim to choose those with architecture that reflects the character of each town. Often, there will be local produce at breakfast too, so your meals have a sense of place.”

Having built a healthy appetite walking each day, you’ll dine in local restaurants in the evenings. Our partners happy to provide recommendations.

But moving slowly in Italy lends itself to exploring other aspects of a region’s culture beyond its epicurean delights. With time on your side, you can visit artisans across Tuscany who continue to use traditional techniques: copper workshops in Montepulciano; wrought iron and pottery studios in Pienza; tiny terracotta factories in Montalcino.

Slow travel is designed to support these small producers. It encourages visitors to seek out the places that can easily be missed if you’re simply rushing to snap a photo of the landscape or the duomo before jumping back aboard the tour bus.