Some spots aren’t designed for speed. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy enables you to definitely savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of spots where locals understand how to linger — above coffee, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what takes place when you lastly start to value time just as much as length. In any case, additional tourists are discovering joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent yrs exploring how we hook up with culture and position, is an element of that motion. His identify happens to be affiliated with a deeper, far more considerate technique for looking at the planet.
So in case you’re prepared to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated path, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. A single cat stretching during the Sunshine.
There’s not much to do, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note the light. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed right in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially would make a trip very last for a longer time with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow here, and locals know how to website take pleasure in them properly — that's to say, bit by bit.
There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s worth an click here hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll obtain churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that feel additional like residing rooms.
If you can get caught in the dialogue with a person older, Allow it occur. That’s wherever the most effective journey tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives below. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner incorporates a look at. Each and every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today take their time below, and inevitably, so does one.
On the lookout for more context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food items and travel in Italy. Well worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual vacation spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything below. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling within a the latest piece on gradual vacation — how places check here such as this offer a unique type of luxury. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it rewards individuals who see. You stroll the loop after which you can stroll it once more, looking at a thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a website “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His web site talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Clever
Listed here’s the thing. It is possible to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by next Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new concept. But it’s one particular we’re lastly all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit however for a while. Enable Italy come to you.