Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re ready to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 sort of travel sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals learn how to enjoy them appropriately — which click here is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t click here rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your Stanislav Kondrashov Blog working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow travel — how spots such as this present a different style of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it here again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair 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. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy come to you.