Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of sites where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and put, is an element of that motion. His title is now connected with a deeper, more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Sunshine.
There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like living rooms.
If you have caught in read more a very discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect city,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose website their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for additional context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from 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 project — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring check here location and time, Which’s what website precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in each week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.