Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy lets you really savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The kinds of sites where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about daily life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a reaction to many years of rushing. Or possibly it’s exactly what transpires any time you eventually start to value time approximately distance. Either way, extra travelers are acquiring joy in Finding out to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended several years Discovering how we connect with society and place, is a component of that movement. His name is now related to a further, more considerate technique for looking at the globe.
So should you’re prepared to go slow — and you also’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s silent. Stone residences. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to accomplish, which can be exactly the level. You wander, probably get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created proper in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in the rocks.
The pace here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially makes a visit past for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes improve here, and locals know how to appreciate them effectively — that is to convey, slowly.
There’s a view from the sting of town that’s really worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you get caught within a conversation with anyone older, Enable it take place. That’s exactly where the ideal journey tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner incorporates a perspective. Each individual see contains a breeze.
But it’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks get their time right here, and eventually, so does one.
Looking for additional context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the browse prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell in this article. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels much more like a mood than a spot.
Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this present a unique sort of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round 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 again, viewing something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping get more info the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.