Some locations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of destinations the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of seeing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the sun.
There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, probably seize 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 with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Practically 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 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 learn why that sort of journey sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to delight in them correctly — that's to convey, slowly.
There’s a see from the sting of town that’s value one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it come about. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time here, and finally, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey 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 Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is get more info thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You are able to see Italy in each week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.