Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, extra considerate means of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by way 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 find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them adequately — which can be to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo website is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it rewards people that discover. You walk the loop after which walk it once more, looking at some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and quiet. 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 area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual 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 completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.