Some spots aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to truly savor area culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up soon after midday. The types of areas wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good plan. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past more time within 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 take pleasure in them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see 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 unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza get more info was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study 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 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 very small courtyards. It feels extra 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 just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside a current piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this present a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of 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. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends 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.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike 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 brand new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.