Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy helps you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of sites where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires when you ultimately start to price time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need 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, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Considerably to do, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as 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 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 inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that sort of travel sticks with people? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down essentially would make a trip previous extended in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that is to convey, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel more like living rooms.

If you will get caught in the discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.

In search of a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study 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 techniques and unexpected 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 nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a special kind of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is actually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.

This is where read more the south of Italy exhibits its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting 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 inside 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 Component of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is 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 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 thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.