Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots exactly where locals learn how to linger — around espresso, in excess of stories, in excess of existence.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a nice thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time up to distance. In any event, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's 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)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in 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 within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl 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 understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a see from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, check here rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and finally, 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 examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unanticipated 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 very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate 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 idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.