Some spots aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor nearby culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your very own pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to value time up to length. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become related to a further, extra thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, and that is precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right into the cliffs. Virtually 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 in the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price 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 observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a check here whole new concept. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.