Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy allows you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The types of sites wherever locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens if you finally start to value time up to length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we connect to culture and spot, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of viewing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that's precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them adequately — that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Each view contains 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 buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so get more info would you.
Looking for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav get more info Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag 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 consideration, however it rewards people that observe. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing 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 shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and silent. 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 undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav read more Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a read more village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.