Some locations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The types of sites where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about existence.

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to price time about length. In any case, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a further, far more thoughtful method of looking at the earth.

So if you’re prepared to go sluggish — and also you’re imagining Italy — Allow me to share 7 places that practically need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout an extended, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not much to complete, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed ideal to the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears into your rocks.

The rate here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with people? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down basically helps make a trip past lengthier with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — more info and that is to convey, little by little.

There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s worthy of an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunlight hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel a lot more like residing rooms.

If you will get stuck in a very conversation with another person more mature, Enable it transpire. That’s where the very best journey tales commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was intended to be “the best metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner features a watch. Each and every watch has a breeze.

But it really’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — more info pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t hurry something in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks acquire their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for a lot more context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish get more info food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels much more like a mood than a vacation spot.

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

Forbes captured this experience in a very the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this give a unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits individuals that observe. You walk the loop after which you can wander it all over again, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — within a “this in fact 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. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation venture — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy in this article, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. It is possible to see Italy in weekly. You may hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will website you neglect it by following Tuesday?

Travel such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new plan. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re last but not least wanting to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.