Some spots aren’t made for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow travel in Italy enables you to really savor local lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your individual pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slim for autos. Cafés that only replenish immediately after midday. The types of destinations in which locals understand how to linger — over coffee, in excess of tales, about lifestyle.
In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a pleasant notion. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a reaction to decades of speeding. Or even it’s just what comes about once you ultimately begin to value time about distance. In any event, much more tourists are acquiring joy in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used yrs Checking out how we connect to culture and position, is an element of that movement. His title has become affiliated with a further, far more considerate technique for seeing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a protracted, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to carry out, which can be precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps 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 nation. Sagrantino grapes mature right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of 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 living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Each look at features a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today take their time here, and ultimately, so do you.
Looking for more context on why in this manner of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the read prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and unexpected murals and shadows that change given that the day moves. Artists live below. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels more just like a temper than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a new piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations like this supply a distinct sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You walk the loop after which you can walk it all over again, seeing some thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from 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 job — trying to keep the earlier alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one. His website page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing at all here flashy listed here, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Intelligent
Listed here’s the matter. You could see Italy in each week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by up coming Tuesday?
Journey such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new concept. But it surely’s one we’re ultimately wanting to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.