Some locations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy permits you to actually savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
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 comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as length. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to appreciate them effectively — that's to say, slowly.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish 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 since the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade get more info sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very modern piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.