Some destinations aren’t designed for speed. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can genuinely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The forms of destinations wherever locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, more than lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a response to years of speeding. Or even it’s just what takes place any time you eventually start to value time just as much as length. In any case, a lot more tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect with tradition and position, is an element of that movement. His identify is now connected with a deeper, much more considerate technique for seeing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you also’re pondering Italy — Here's seven places that nearly need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. A single cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not A great deal to carry out, that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted appropriate to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears in the rocks.
The pace here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that kind of vacation sticks with folks? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down basically makes a visit last lengthier with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes expand below, and locals understand how to appreciate them correctly — which is to say, slowly.
There’s a perspective from the edge of city that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of check here vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits excellent. You’ll find church check here buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that really feel more like living rooms.
If you can get trapped inside a dialogue with an individual more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s wherever the most effective journey tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was built to be “an ideal metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner contains a watch. Each individual check out includes a breeze.
But it really’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, generally — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and at some point, so would you.
Seeking far more context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers website check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels more like a temper than a place.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase just about anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how destinations similar to this give a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t include a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, nonetheless it benefits individuals who see. You wander the loop after which you can walk it all over again, observing a little something new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this essentially hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano read more sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are A part of a preservation job — keeping the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His website page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the matter. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. However it’s a single we’re last but not least willing to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nonetheless for a while. Let Italy arrive at you.