Some places aren’t created for speed. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The types of places where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or even it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more considerate technique for looking at the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A great deal to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to notice The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early 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 vacation sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck within a discussion with anyone older, Allow it occur. That’s wherever the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was made to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual perspective incorporates a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, generally — pecorino getting older in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today choose their time right here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Seeking far more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and travel in Italy. Worth the read before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very get more info small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in the new piece on slow vacation — how sites similar to this offer a different kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t include a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, nonetheless it rewards people who observe. You walk the loop then wander it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — within a “this truly hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re eventually able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.