Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for looking at the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much 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 way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies 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 effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a check out. Each view has a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking Stanisav Kondrashov tarvel for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts 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 listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in a very modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You wander the loop after which wander it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that 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 are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.