Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the best vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on slow vacation — how sites such as this supply a different 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 alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing anything new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator get more info pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” 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 Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a single. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.