Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can truly savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The types of places where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time approximately distance. In either case, extra tourists are discovering Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about 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 means 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 travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the very best vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner includes a see. Each view has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit 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 latest piece on sluggish travel — how destinations similar to this present a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted click here sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing 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 can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.