Some locations aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to really savor local lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The forms of locations the place locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, around existence.

In 2025, gradual 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 whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, possibly grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down really makes a visit past extended with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes mature here, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top travel tales start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner incorporates a check out. Each and every see contains a breeze.

But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so do you.

Seeking more context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill town with stone 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 small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this experience in a very modern piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that recognize. You wander the loop after which stroll it again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.

Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are website pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect 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 thought. But it’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.

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