Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time as much as length. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be affiliated with a further, additional thoughtful method of observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears 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 houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to complete, which happens to 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. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to love them appropriately — that is to state, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” 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, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Looking for additional context on why in this way of traveling matters? 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 city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive 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 in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once more, looking at anything 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 displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — 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, check here Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per 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 upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s just one we’re lastly all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.