Some locations aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you genuinely savor area culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above stories, around life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens if you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate means of seeing the planet.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to complete, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways which make you end, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with an individual older, let it take place. That’s in which the ideal journey stories 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. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each and every view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks just take their time right here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this offer you a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and check here compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s one particular 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.