Some destinations aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The types of destinations where by locals understand how to linger — over espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So should you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial journey stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — 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 consider their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct 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 sensation within a latest piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a get more info price 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 notice. You stroll the loop after which you can walk it once again, seeing anything 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. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” 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 attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy right here, which can be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Intelligent
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay 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 brand new plan. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.