Turismo Lento or in other words ... take it easy on holiday!

The new trend in Italy is the Turismo Lento or Slow Tourism: slow tourism that mainly focuses on sustainability, walking, cycling, culture and culinary enjoyment. A form of tourism that is also increasingly stimulated by the local authorities. A bit like the Slow Food movement. Not only because foreign tourists are very much in for it, but also the Italians themselves. There is more and more walking, hiking in the mountains, cave tours, canoeing, excursions with guides, climbing. There is also more and more cycling. Although honesty commands me to say that when I see cyclists with luggage, they are actually always Germans. Of a certain age. But it does not alter the fact that the regional trains now all have a space for bicycles and that there is little in the way of the true bicycle enthusiast to discover kilometers of coastline.

Ciclovia Adriatica
One plan after another is launched and realized. A good example is the long-distance cycling route the 'Ciclovia Adriatica' that will eventually connect Trieste with Leuca, in the south of the Puglia region. Several parts of this route have already been completed, but a number of connecting routes are still lacking. One of the recommendations is the part between Ortono and Vasto, the so-called Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi. Cycling routes are also being realized along the rivers that flow into the Adriatic Sea. Promising developments that taste for more.

Albergo diffuso
It was in Santo Stefano in Sessanio that I first became acquainted with the concept of 'Albergo diffuso'. In my opinion also a form of turismo lento, it fits the picture. In the historic center there are several hotel rooms and apartments at different locations, each with its own character. The idea is that in this way the guests stay among the villagers and become part of the small community. All very authentic and that is what many people are looking for ... authentic experiences. But it is also a way to put small fortified towns that were outside the tourist routes back on the map. It turns out to be a successful formula because there are already quite a number of towns where they have applied this. A sympathetic way to give a new future to these beautiful towns that suffered greatly from depopulation, while mobilizing the entire population. In Santo Sefano in Sessonia this turned out very well.