Some destinations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like residing rooms.
If you have caught inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Every perspective 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 nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the examine 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how sites similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all 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 get more info the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.