Some spots aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of areas the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, more than lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout a protracted, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching from the Sunlight.
There’s not much to carry out, that's precisely the position. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The pace here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous more time with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals know how to appreciate them properly — which happens to be to state, slowly and gradually.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in a conversation with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a look at. Just about every perspective has a breeze.
However it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today choose their time below, and sooner or later, so do you.
Looking for additional context on why using this method of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the here day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels additional similar to a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything right here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. 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 individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when 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 put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in 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 task — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.