Some spots aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The varieties of spots exactly where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a deeper, additional thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — here are 7 places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated path, and after you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone homes. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding through 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 men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals know how to delight in them appropriately — that is to state, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits good. You’ll uncover churches with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s where by the most effective travel tales get started.
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. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Worth the read 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers check out and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a temper than a desired destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The check here air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in each week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate 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 thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.