Some destinations aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to truly savor area tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal tempo.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for autos. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The styles of sites exactly where locals learn how to linger — about espresso, in excess of stories, over everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what takes place whenever you lastly begin to value time approximately distance. In any case, much more tourists are acquiring joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended years Checking out how we connect to culture and spot, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a further, far more considerate means of looking at the globe.
So if you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 places that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Sunshine.
There’s not Substantially to complete, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The rate here is sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with men and women? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact will make a visit very last longer inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes expand right here, and locals know how to enjoy them properly — which is to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of town that’s truly worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event click here the Solar hits excellent. You’ll find churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that sense extra like residing rooms.
If you have trapped inside a conversation with someone older, Permit it transpire. That’s in which the very best vacation stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was built to be “the proper town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a see. Each view includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells amazing. Cheese, mainly — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t rush everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals take their time in this article, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and unexpected murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers take a look at and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase something below. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on slow vacation — how areas such as this provide a unique kind of luxury. One which doesn’t have a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, however it benefits those that detect. You stroll the loop after which you can stroll it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this in fact hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Component of a preservation venture — trying to keep the past alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a single. His website page talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy here, which can be what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Good
In this article’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in per week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap images. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new thought. But it’s one particular we’re at last able to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Pick a village. Sit nonetheless for quite a while. Permit Italy come to you.