Some places aren’t manufactured for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs 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 Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems 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 quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. Just 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 hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally 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 within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master 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 in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady 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 convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem here to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it occur. That’s exactly where the top travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it rewards people who see. You walk the loop and after that stroll it once more, seeing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely 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 changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a person. His webpage talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate 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 believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.