Some destinations aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you genuinely savor community lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after midday. The forms of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, more than life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a nice idea. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a response to years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what comes about when you eventually begin to worth time just as much as distance. In any case, much more vacationers are getting joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is part of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers 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 narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps 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 empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with 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 individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact can make a visit very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it transpire. That’s the place the top journey tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was made to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, read more they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Every view provides a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the examine 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a destination.
Sunsets strike 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 in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this supply a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop then wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with 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 place feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — within a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation project — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the point. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.