Some destinations aren’t made for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy allows you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally start to value time up to length. In any event, extra travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with lifestyle and area, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, far more considerate technique for seeing the globe.
So if you’re able to go gradual — and you also’re considering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The tempo Here's 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 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 put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was read more built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. read more Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual 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 day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots more info everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits people who notice. You walk the loop after which you can wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” click here way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company 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 nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate 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 strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.