{siesta}

{mid-day nap}

In my previous post, I mentioned the daily siesta that we are encouraged to practice as we dive into the Italian culture.


A little insight about the siesta...

Having a siesta makes people work more and better

Workplace napping is a natural, no-cost way to increase worker productivity. Employers should allow (and even encourage) workers to nap on their work breaks.

Doctors, researchers and scientists (at Nasa) have finally quantified the benefits of the daily nap. It has been found that having a nap of 30 minutes in the middle of a working day recharge our brain, increase memory, concentration and so human productivity of 34%.

We Italians nap since the Roman times – at least. It’s more a physical need than a culture use. Have two hours for lunch break is generally the normal and taking a nap after lunch is common and natural for 50% of Italians – in hot summers it becomes more epidemic.

“Siesta” is always been connected to Latin countries and considered a sign of laziness – by Northern Europeans. The word itself come from Latin and means the sixth hour (of light), which is around midday. But everyone knows – in the south of Europe – a good nap does wonders for your productivity.

{more here}

{cittaslow}

{slow city}


Orvieto, the city where I will be studying, practices cittaslow, a movement that is spreading internationally... take a look!

Cittaslow is a movement founded in Italy in October 1999. The inspiration of Cittaslow was the Slow Food organization. Cittaslow's goals include improving the quality of life in towns by slowing down its overall pace, especially in a city's use of spaces and the flow of life and traffic through them. Cittaslow is part of a cultural trend known as the Slow movement.

There are 50 goals and principles that each Cittaslow town commits to work to achieve. Although there will always be place for improvement these goals serve as tangible benchmarks to improve the quality of life in the city.

The main aims of the movement are:

• making life better for everyone living in an urban environment
• improving the quality of life in the cities
• resisting the homogenization and globalization of towns around the globe
• protecting the environment
• promoting cultural diversity and uniqueness of individual cities
• provide inspiration for a healthier lifestyle

{more here}

Professor Guttorm Fløistad summarizes the philosophy, stating:

"The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated! It is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal."

{more here}

What does this mean for me? Long meals, an extra glass of wine, siesta, daily walks throughout the community in the evening, and the opportunity for a better appreciation for the people and places that surround me...