Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy allows you to actually savor community society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slim for cars. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The styles of sites exactly where locals understand how to linger — about espresso, around stories, about life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a reaction to years of hurrying. Or possibly it’s just what happens when you at last start to benefit time up to distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years exploring how we connect to society and put, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be associated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful method of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you’re wondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that basically demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander throughout a protracted, elevated path, and after you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Solar.
There’s not A lot to accomplish, which can be precisely the point. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact will make a visit last for a longer time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals understand how to love them properly — which happens to be to state, bit by bit.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well worth an 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 surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that come to feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far read more off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. 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 since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it 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 on the 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. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. 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 — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just 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 images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.