Some destinations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than tales, above life.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share 7 places that basically need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and once you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down actually can make a trip very last more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial journey tales start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.

But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a location.

Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that detect. You walk the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made 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 really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one particular. His website page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy in this article, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
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 overlook it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new check here plan. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.