Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to definitely savor area tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The forms of spots exactly where locals understand how to linger — around coffee, over stories, more than life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels important. Maybe it’s a reaction to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what occurs when you at last start to value time about length. In any event, a lot more travelers are acquiring joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we hook up with culture and place, is an element of that movement. His name happens to be linked to a deeper, additional thoughtful technique for looking at the planet.
So for those who’re prepared to go sluggish — and also you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are seven places that almost demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Small gardens. A single cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to carry out, and that is precisely the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice the light. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears to the rocks.
The pace here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with persons? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact can make a trip very last extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to delight in them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a view from the sting of town that’s really worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you have trapped in the discussion with somebody more mature, let it transpire. That’s in which the best journey tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was intended to be “the perfect metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner provides a perspective. Each individual see provides a breeze.
But it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in click here store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks consider their time right here, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for far more context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and journey in Italy. Well worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels a lot more similar to a mood than a desired destination.
Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything listed here. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside of a new piece on sluggish travel — how destinations such as this give a distinct style of luxurious. One which doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, however it benefits those who notice. You walk the loop and after that wander it once more, viewing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — retaining the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a single. His page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s very little flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Intelligent
Below’s the issue. You are able to see Italy in a week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by subsequent Tuesday?
Travel like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new notion. But it surely’s one we’re at last ready to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Enable Italy come to you.