Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a nice notion. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. In either case, extra travelers are discovering joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a further, extra considerate method of seeing the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks 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 after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not much to carry out, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and 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 folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour 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 which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
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 check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, check here cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits individuals that detect. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where 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 put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place 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
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.