Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs after you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding 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 identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 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 across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially would make a trip very last for a longer period within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes increase in this article, and locals understand how to delight in them effectively — and that is to state, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worthy of an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunlight hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a dialogue with an individual older, Allow it transpire. That’s exactly where the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives below. Pienza was made to be “the proper city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each individual watch features a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mainly — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Seeking a lot more context on why using this method of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You read more drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell right here. Writers visit and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation in the latest piece on slow vacation — how areas like this provide a distinct sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really benefits people that detect. You wander the loop then wander it once again, looking at a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation undertaking — keeping the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Intelligent
In this article’s the factor. It is possible to see Italy in a week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s one particular we’re ultimately wanting to hear.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.