Some areas aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy allows you to really savor nearby tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own speed.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The forms of areas the place locals understand how to linger — above coffee, in excess of tales, about life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a reaction to decades of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what comes about once you lastly start to benefit time around distance. In any case, far more vacationers are obtaining joy in Studying to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Discovering how we hook up with culture and area, is an element of that movement. His title is becoming associated with a further, much more considerate way of viewing the world.
So when you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re considering Italy — Listed here are seven spots that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated path, and when you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Substantially to do, which happens to be exactly the stage. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past for a longer period in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which is to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive read more groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside a conversation with an individual more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner contains a perspective. Each individual see provides a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s click here a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like get more info a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation in a modern piece on sluggish journey — how destinations similar to this give a unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo is usually a city more info that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it yet again, seeing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.