Some destinations aren’t designed for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of places wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice notion. 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 about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit final lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s exactly where the top travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a view. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and at some point, so would you.
In search of additional context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
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 emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a different kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a price tag 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 benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this basically hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Section of a preservation project — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes 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. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will click here you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s one we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.