Some destinations 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 own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The forms of locations in which locals learn how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is an element of that motion. His title is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated route, and when you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside 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. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, 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 kind of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
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 unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive 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 was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists live listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people that recognize. You wander the loop after which stroll it again, observing something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals 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 — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in 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 task — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. get more info You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different notion. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re lastly all set to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.