Some locations aren’t manufactured for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy lets you actually savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of sites where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, above daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place when you ultimately begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and position, is an element of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons acquire their time right here, and inevitably, more info so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike unique 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 sluggish travel — how places such as this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits people who see. You stroll the loop and then walk it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Listed here’s the thing. You can see Italy in each week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.