Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can really savor area culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to value time approximately length. Either way, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years Discovering how we connect to tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with persons? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down actually will make a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top journey tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in website this article, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.