Some destinations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your very own pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, 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 when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.

If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation 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 here ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this experience in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Gradual Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.

So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.