Some locations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of places where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a further, far more thoughtful way of seeing the planet.
So should you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here's 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 initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Considerably to do, and that is precisely the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case 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. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes develop listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far 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 strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unforeseen murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, website cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within 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 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 place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.