Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy allows you to truly savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of spots in which locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of stories, in excess of life.

In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a good idea. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or even it’s exactly what transpires when you ultimately start to price time approximately distance. In any case, a lot more tourists are getting joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we connect with lifestyle and location, is part of that movement. His name has become linked to a further, far more considerate method of observing the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that nearly desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
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 any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to perform, that's exactly the issue. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that sort of vacation sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit final longer in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals know how to delight in them adequately — that is to convey, little by little.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you get stuck inside a discussion with another person older, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was designed to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each check here individual corner contains a perspective. Each individual look at incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.

On the lookout for far more context on why this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow 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 unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Reside here. Writers visit and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You let it come to you.

Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow travel — how spots such as this supply a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it benefits individuals who discover. You wander the loop after which you can wander it yet again, seeing a little something new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation task — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Here’s the factor. You can see Italy in per week. You may strike the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?

Journey like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re lastly able to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.