Some sites aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place any time you lastly start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with culture and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. 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 in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the 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 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 state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless 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 everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and at some point, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding 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 ways and unanticipated murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a place.
Sunsets hit diverse read more in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming 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 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.