Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal tempo.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for automobiles. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time approximately distance. In any event, extra tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become related to a deeper, extra considerate means of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at 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)
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. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows 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 — in a “this truly hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in 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. You may see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit check here however for quite a while. Let Italy arrive at you.