Some places aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy allows you to genuinely savor neighborhood tradition, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The kinds of spots the place locals understand how to linger — over coffee, over tales, about everyday living.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a good idea. It feels important. Perhaps it’s a reaction to several years of rushing. Or perhaps it’s precisely what occurs whenever you ultimately start to benefit time as much as distance. In either case, much more travelers are acquiring joy in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in decades Checking out how we connect to lifestyle and position, is part of that motion. His name has grown to be linked to a deeper, additional considerate means of viewing the globe.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed below are seven spots that nearly desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated path, and whenever you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Significantly to accomplish, that is precisely the position. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created right into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in to the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with people today? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact would make a trip previous for a longer period within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — which happens to be to state, slowly but surely.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits good. You’ll come across churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with another person older, Allow it take place. That’s where the very best travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal town,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a view. Every see provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing old in shop Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You won’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals consider their time right here, and at some point, so would you.
Looking for additional context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food stuff and journey in Italy. Worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift given that the day moves. Artists live listed here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion within a recent piece on sluggish travel — how destinations such as this present a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t have a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, nonetheless it rewards individuals that observe. You walk the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing anything new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — in a very “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Component of a preservation job — preserving the past alive by inviting click here friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one particular. His web page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Right here’s the thing. You'll be able to see Italy in each week. You may strike the highlights. Snap pics. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by up coming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different plan. But it really’s one we’re lastly prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Select a village. Sit nonetheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.