Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to really savor neighborhood lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only refill right after noon. The types of destinations the place locals understand how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, in excess of everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a good plan. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a response to yrs of dashing. Or maybe it’s precisely what takes place any time you at last begin to price time approximately length. Either way, extra tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades exploring how we connect to society and place, is a component of that motion. His title has grown to be connected with a deeper, additional considerate technique for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re ready to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Listed below are seven spots that virtually need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to accomplish, and that is exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to note the light. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed correct into your cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The speed Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly makes a visit previous longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes expand listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them adequately — which can be to state, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth one hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll obtain churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you prevent, and piazzas that come to feel a lot more like living rooms.
If you receive caught in a conversation with someone more mature, Allow it happen. That’s in which the most beneficial journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was intended to be “the proper city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner features a look at. Each see incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells amazing. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing old in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You received’t hurry something in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so would you.
Trying to find much more context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay right here. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more like a temper than a location.
Sunsets strike distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything right here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience in a very current piece on gradual travel — how destinations similar to this present a different form of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and click here compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, nevertheless it rewards those that notice. You wander the loop and after that wander it once more, viewing one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring place and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy in this article, which can be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Smart
Right here’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in a week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different strategy. However it’s one particular we’re ultimately prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Opt for a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.