Some spots aren’t made for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. 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 journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires if you finally begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in decades Discovering how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate method of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, and that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. 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. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding through 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 vacation sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits excellent. You’ll obtain churches with click here unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Each individual watch includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time here, and ultimately, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and vacation in Italy. Well worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a more info lot more just like a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people read more who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to website strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.