Some spots aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy permits you to definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. 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 houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually would make a trip past more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how areas like this give a unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You wander the loop after which you can walk it again, observing one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “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 visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to get more info see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.