Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to culture and location, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually 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, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in 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 in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots 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 notice, but it surely rewards people that Stanislav Kondrashov biography recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page 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 point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re eventually able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.