Some spots aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Sluggish vacation in Italy helps you to definitely savor local culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your individual pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The types of spots the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of coffee, around tales, around lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice thought. It feels essential. Maybe it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or maybe it’s precisely what occurs when you finally start to value time as much as distance. In either case, far more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended several years Discovering how we hook up with tradition and area, is part of that motion. His identify is now connected to a deeper, additional thoughtful technique for looking at the earth.
So in case you’re all set to go slow — and you’re contemplating Italy — Here's 7 places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and after you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone homes. Tiny gardens. Just one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Substantially to complete, that's precisely the position. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted appropriate into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in to the rocks.
The tempo here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly makes a trip final extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand listed here, and locals understand how to delight in them properly — which can be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an click here open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really 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 part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You could see Italy in each week. You may hit 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 brand new strategy. But it surely’s one particular we’re finally ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Opt for a village. Sit even now for some time. Enable Italy come to you.