Italy marks Slow Day with relaxing events

Rome -- Italians marked World Slow Day with free public transportation, poetry contests, free yoga and Tai Chi lessons, and mock fines for pedestrians walking too fast.

Bruno Contigiani, 62, president of the Art of Living Slowly Association and founder of World Slow Day in 2007, said Monday's international event was aimed at living at a natural speed and promoting the "14 Commandments" of the association, including waking up five minutes early to savor breakfast and striking up conversations with other motorists during traffic jams, ANSA reported Tuesday.

The city of Caltanissetta offered free public transportation Monday and commuters were given free copies of the "14 Commandments."

Meanwhile, "Slow Wardens" in the cities of Milan and Genoa were on hand to distribute mock citations to pedestrians seen walking too fast or taking too direct a route to their destinations.

A competition was held in Benevento to find the haiku poem best describing the ideals of the day and free Tai Chi and yoga lessons were offered in public parks across the country.

"Let's take this one day to stop and think about all the things we miss out on while we're rushing through our lives," Contigiani said.

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