Some spots aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy lets you actually savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill immediately after noon. The varieties of spots in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. 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 route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain caught in a get more info very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza read more was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the browse before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift given that the day moves. Artists Reside in this article. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in more info tiny courtyards. It feels a lot 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 anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on sluggish travel — how places Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up 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. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.