Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, more tourists are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, more thoughtful means of seeing the whole world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to perform, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early 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 men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in 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 alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, 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 where by the best vacation tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey 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 steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike different 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 feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with 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, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “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 Element of a preservation project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this click here — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.