Some locations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has become related to a further, more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are 7 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 and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch 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 locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about 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. Persons consider their time below, and at some point, so does one.
Trying to find additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 unpredicted murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper 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 Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very 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 city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals who recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside a “this actually hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are A part of a preservation job — keeping the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His more info page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it’s a single we’re finally prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.