Some locations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to genuinely savor nearby society, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up following noon. The types of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, more than tales, above lifetime.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels vital. Possibly it’s a response to yrs of dashing. Or maybe it’s precisely what takes place if you eventually begin to price time around distance. In either case, a lot more travelers are acquiring joy in Studying to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that motion. His identify is becoming associated with a deeper, extra considerate method of viewing the planet.
So in case you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re imagining Italy — Listed here are 7 places that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Substantially to try and do, that's exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is 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 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 final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s truly worth 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 end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town 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 far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and check here vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple 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 tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position 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 New Smart
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new plan. But it surely’s one particular we’re ultimately prepared to hear.
So go. Little by little. Pick a village. Sit continue to for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.