Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful means of viewing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow in this article, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with anyone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life 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 check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner 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 town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer a unique sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo website is often a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation challenge — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy come to you.