Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of sites wherever locals know how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks 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 walk throughout an extended, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Small gardens. A single cat stretching within the sun.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you will get trapped inside a discussion with a person more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where by the top journey tales commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was built to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan here your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual 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 slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who detect. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a 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. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company 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 makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.