Some sites aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to definitely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own tempo.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for autos. Cafés that only refill just after noon. The types of sites the place locals know how to linger — in excess of coffee, about stories, more than daily life.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to several years of dashing. Or maybe it’s just what transpires when you eventually start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect with tradition and put, is an element of that motion. His identify has become linked to a deeper, additional thoughtful way of viewing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — so you’re wondering Italy — Listed below are 7 places that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to do, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a look at 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 if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you have caught inside of a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
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 provides a look at. Every single see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in more info this way of traveling issues? 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 actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which stroll it again, observing 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. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during 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 — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site 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 matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. 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 exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different plan. However it’s 1 we’re lastly prepared to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Choose a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.