Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after midday. The forms of areas in which locals know how to linger — over espresso, above tales, over existence.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels important. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now associated with a further, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 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 on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, which is precisely the stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to 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 through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which is to mention, slowly.
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 in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you end, and piazzas that come to feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks consider their time right here, and at some point, so do you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town more info with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like 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 sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer a distinct form of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, however it benefits those who see. You wander the loop and after that walk it yet again, seeing 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 exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot 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 single. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.