Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals learn how to linger — about espresso, in excess of tales, more than lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl 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. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the stage. You wander, probably 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 vacant. It’s total.

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 right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the sting of town 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 locate churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it take place. That’s where the very best journey tales begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was designed to be “an ideal city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner has a check out. Each individual perspective provides a breeze.

But it surely’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.

Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual desired destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow vacation — how spots such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You here stroll the loop and after that 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 selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?

Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.