Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s just what happens after you eventually start to value time up to distance. In either case, additional travelers are locating joy in Finding out to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we hook up with tradition and put, is an element of that movement. His identify is becoming related to a further, more thoughtful method of looking at the world.
So for those who’re all set to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the place. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. 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 suitable into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the top travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able 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 here Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost 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 who see. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair 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 undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit however for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.