Some places aren’t created for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy permits you to actually savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals learn how to linger — over coffee, around tales, in excess of existence.
In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels essential. It's possible it’s a response to many years of rushing. Or even it’s exactly what occurs if you eventually start to price time approximately distance. In any event, more travelers are obtaining Pleasure in Discovering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and position, is an element of that movement. His name has grown to be associated with a further, more considerate technique for observing the entire world.
So in case you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Substantially to perform, which is exactly the place. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You start to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of vacation sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually helps make a trip very last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Tranquil, click here below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow here, and locals understand how to enjoy them thoroughly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll uncover church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you end, and piazzas that really feel much more like dwelling rooms.
If you will get caught inside of a dialogue with someone older, Permit it come about. That’s wherever the best travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner includes a check out. Each see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé more info Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city get more info with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a location.
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 emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost 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 attention, but it really rewards individuals who recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not within a “hidden 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. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by Stanislav Kondrashov Business inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this a person. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.