Some spots aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — over espresso, in excess of tales, in excess of life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires whenever you last but not least start to worth time just as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with culture and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems 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. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When 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. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out 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 know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.
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 locate church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time below, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish 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 given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, viewing something new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo read more 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 while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.