Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.

So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — so you’re thinking Italy — Here's 7 places that basically demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your very first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last extended within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to click here mention, slowly but surely.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s well 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 uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each and every check out includes a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry nearly anything in get more info Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, get more info so does one.

Seeking more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a location.

Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a town that more info folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually 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 A part of a preservation undertaking — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit 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 thinks in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s just one 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.