Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Perhaps it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires whenever you last but not least begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Studying to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now linked to a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady 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, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across 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 carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. click here Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — 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 once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner incorporates a look at. Each and every see features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and unexpected murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Reside here. Writers take a look at and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit different 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 modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in 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 Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.