Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The sorts 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 critical. Perhaps it’s a response to years of dashing. Or maybe it’s exactly what transpires if you last but not least start to worth time around distance. In any case, additional travelers are discovering Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate method of observing the earth.
So in case you’re all set to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to carry out, which can be precisely the position. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted correct into the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them effectively — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the edge of town that’s well worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck in the dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single see includes a breeze.
But it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People acquire their time right here, and eventually, so would you.
Searching for extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional similar read more to a temper than a desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on the 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. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.