Some destinations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above stories, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss 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 on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with 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 points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas get more info that experience much more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in a conversation with a person older, Permit it transpire. That’s the place the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to get more info be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
Looking for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. 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 sudden murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town more info that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting more info friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in 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 a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.