Some locations aren’t manufactured for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you definitely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In any event, extra vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to tradition and spot, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate strategy for viewing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to try and do, which can be precisely the point. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit previous more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to state, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits good. You’ll obtain churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s in which the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a view. Every perspective contains a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time below, and sooner or later, so does one.
Seeking much more context on why click here this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They more info paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a modern piece on slow travel — how places similar to this present a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price 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 those who detect. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation task — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember read more it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. get more info But it surely’s a single we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.