Some sites aren’t made for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill immediately after noon. The varieties of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, more considerate means of seeing the planet.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended with 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 learn how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
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 Sunlight hits good. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a special kind of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during 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 venture — trying to keep the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket website stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Let Italy come to you.