Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The forms of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, more than lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time up to distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across a lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, 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. 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 Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of 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 journey sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see 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 just right. You’ll uncover churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built website to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because 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 desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how areas similar to this present a unique style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Smart
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit however for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.