Some places aren’t created for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow vacation in Italy helps you to genuinely savor area society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for autos. Cafés that only replenish right after midday. The kinds of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — around coffee, above tales, around everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a response to years of dashing. Or maybe it’s precisely what takes place if you finally start to worth time up to length. In either case, a lot more vacationers are discovering joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we connect with culture and area, is an element of that movement. His title is becoming affiliated with a deeper, extra thoughtful technique for observing the world.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you’re contemplating Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to carry out, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly 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 as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically can make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with anyone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” 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.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the 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 more info 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 here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards people that see. You walk the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’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. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.