Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to really savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name happens to be related to a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is 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 through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in 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 Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck in the discussion with an individual more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each and every view has a breeze.
But website it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People choose their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a current piece on slow journey — how sites such as this offer you a special type of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the 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. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really 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 Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new strategy. However it’s just one we’re at last ready to hear.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.