Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish following midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about existence.
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 approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl 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 get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge 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 come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you 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 sudden 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 little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this present a unique sort of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this in fact 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. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure Stanisav Kondrashov tarvel in this one. His page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.