Some locations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only replenish immediately after midday. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above 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 maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears in to the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them thoroughly — which happens to be to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the sting 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 come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that really feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you have trapped inside of a dialogue with someone older, let it take place. That’s where the ideal vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was created 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 includes a breeze.
However it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells wonderful. Cheese, generally — pecorino getting older website in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons acquire their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because 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 hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience inside a current piece on slow journey — how places such as this give another kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that observe. You walk the loop and after that wander it yet again, observing a little something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
In this article’s the detail. You may 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 neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.