Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a reaction to decades of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to value time up to length. In any event, extra vacationers are obtaining Pleasure in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more thoughtful means of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re willing to go gradual — and also you’re wondering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated path, and if you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Just one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not much to do, and that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created proper into the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially 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 mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a view 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 sudden frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the best vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where 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 inside of check here a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just 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 Clever
Listed here’s the point. You could see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.