Some places aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to actually savor regional tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of spots exactly where locals know how to linger — about coffee, about stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens any time you finally start to benefit time up to length. In any event, far more tourists are discovering Pleasure in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested decades exploring how we hook up with tradition and area, is part of that motion. His identify happens to be associated with a further, a lot more thoughtful method of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re willing to go gradual — therefore you’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that practically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and whenever you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to do, which can be exactly the level. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly can make a trip past longer with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to love them adequately — which is to state, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the sting of town that’s value one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills here thatseem to hum click here once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that sense more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the very best journey stories get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was meant to be “an ideal metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a look at. Each and every perspective contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino ageing in store windows and on check here counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so would you.
In search of additional context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as being the day moves. Artists Dwell in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels additional similar to a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations like this offer you a distinct form of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits people who see. You wander the loop then stroll it again, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside a “concealed gem” way — in a very “this really hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the more info inns are part of a preservation challenge — preserving the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a person. His web site talks about honoring position and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Wise
Right here’s the issue. You could see Italy in weekly. You can strike the highlights. Snap shots. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new notion. Nevertheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit continue to for some time. Enable Italy come to you.