Some destinations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional vacationers are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed 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 by 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 folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially would make a trip very last longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Peaceful, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals know how to delight in them properly — and that is to say, little by little.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s worthy of an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this offer here you a distinct kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards individuals that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The 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 recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.