Some destinations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to actually savor local tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — around coffee, about stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good plan. It feels critical. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, more travelers are discovering joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that motion. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So if you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — here are seven spots that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a protracted, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The pace here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that kind of travel sticks with individuals? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly would make a trip last longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them correctly — that is to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that really feel far more like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each individual watch provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks choose their time below, and ultimately, so does one.
On the lookout for additional context on why here in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Stay right here. Writers go click here to and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation in a very modern piece on gradual travel — how places such as this present another type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You wander the loop and afterwards wander it once more, viewing a little something new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Component of a preservation venture — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting here friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His website page talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the point. You may see Italy in every week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you overlook it by up coming Tuesday?
Travel Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh strategy. But it really’s a person we’re finally all set to hear.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.