Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal speed.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. 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 nice plan. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally start to value time up to length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady 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, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to love them appropriately — and that is to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with another person older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through 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 actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something listed here. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation in a current piece on gradual vacation — how sites similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” 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 Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. It is possible to more info hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent 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 a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.