Some spots aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to really savor community society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own private pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up just after midday. The types of spots where locals understand how to linger — in excess of coffee, around stories, above lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good idea. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs when you finally begin to price time around length. In any event, additional travelers are finding Pleasure in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we connect with culture and location, is an element of that motion. His name happens to be affiliated with a deeper, much more thoughtful technique for looking at the earth.
So if you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 places that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s silent. Stone homes. Very small gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to carry out, that's exactly the position. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed ideal into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears to the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with individuals? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially makes a trip previous extended in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes improve below, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to mention, little by little.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that feel far more like residing rooms.
If you get stuck within a discussion with anyone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where by the best journey tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was made to be “the best city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner includes a check out. Every view provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women acquire their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Trying to find more context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the read prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone methods and unforeseen murals and read more shadows that change since the working day moves. Artists Reside in this article. Writers check out and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels extra like a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything listed here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience inside a the latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it rewards individuals that recognize. You stroll the loop after which you can wander it again, seeing one thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — within a “this really hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are part of a preservation task — holding the past alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this just one. His website page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Intelligent
Listed here’s the issue. You could see Italy in each week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new notion. Nevertheless it’s one we’re eventually able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.