Some sites aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you genuinely savor nearby lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own pace.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of locations where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to decades of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what transpires once you ultimately begin to price time up to distance. In any event, extra travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for observing the earth.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl 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. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to do, that's precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate 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, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from 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 in fact helps make a visit very last for a longer time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop listed check here here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with surprising frescoes, doorways click here which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with a person older, let it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each individual perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. read more This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time in this article, and finally, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a place.
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 give a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. get more info It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Pick a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.