Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy lets you actually savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re willing to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits good. You’ll come across check here church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it transpire. That’s where by the ideal travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was designed to be website “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of more context on why in this get more info manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey 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 sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more 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 something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that detect. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly 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. get more info Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit however for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.