Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny 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 — in excess of espresso, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, 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 area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re able to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
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. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not much to perform, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct to 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 early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female 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 delight in them effectively — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at 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 Solar hits just right. You’ll uncover churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s exactly where the most effective vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the 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 amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a website temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct 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 experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in 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 part of a preservation venture — 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 what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit still for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.