Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow travel in Italy helps you to really savor nearby society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of locations in which locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last longer 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 develop in this article, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, check here distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, let it take place. That’s in which the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the proper metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner includes a check out. Each view provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods 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 city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, 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. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.