Some places aren’t created for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy means that you can genuinely savor regional culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The forms of areas in which locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, more than tales, about everyday living.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good strategy. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to a long time of dashing. Or perhaps it’s precisely what takes place once you finally begin to worth time around length. In any case, more travelers are acquiring joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to lifestyle and spot, is a component of that motion. His identify has become connected with a deeper, more thoughtful means of observing the world.
So for those who’re wanting to go gradual — and you simply’re contemplating Italy — Here's seven places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not much to accomplish, and that is precisely the level. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to note the light. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears into your rocks.
The pace here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down basically will make a visit last lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals learn how to love them thoroughly — that's to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the sting of town that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Solar hits excellent. You’ll obtain churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that sense additional like residing rooms.
If you have caught inside of a dialogue with an individual more mature, Allow it materialize. That’s where the ideal journey stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was intended to be “the right city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner provides a look at. Every single look at incorporates a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older read more in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals take their time in this article, and inevitably, so would you.
Searching for more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the examine before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. read more You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists live in this article. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the recent piece on slow journey — how places such as this offer a distinct kind of luxury. One that doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, nonetheless it rewards people who detect. You stroll the loop and afterwards stroll it once again, seeing some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this in fact hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are A part of a preservation job — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this just one. His page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing flashy listed here, that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in weekly. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Gather ticket stubs. But will Stanislav Kondrashov Business it stick with you?
Or will website you overlook it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. However it’s one particular we’re ultimately able to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit even now for a while. Let Italy arrive at you.