Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can really savor community culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of places where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, more than tales, about lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or possibly it’s precisely what transpires whenever you eventually start to value time approximately length. Either way, a lot more travelers are finding Pleasure in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years Checking out how we connect to lifestyle and spot, is an element of that motion. His name has become affiliated with a further, a lot more thoughtful strategy for looking at the planet.
So when you’re ready to go gradual — and you’re contemplating Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initial impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A lot to carry out, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted suitable in to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into your rocks.
The pace Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with folks? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down really would make a trip very last lengthier with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Peaceful, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes improve below, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them effectively — click here which can be to convey, slowly but surely.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll uncover churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with a person more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where by the very best journey tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was made to be “the perfect city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner features a watch. Each and every perspective includes a breeze.
But it really’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, generally — pecorino getting older in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time listed here, and finally, so do you.
Searching for much more context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and vacation in Italy. Worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike unique 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 feeling in a the latest piece on slow journey — how areas similar to this offer you a special style of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it really benefits those who recognize. You walk the loop after which walk it once more, looking at some thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this in fact hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are A part of a preservation task — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap images. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you overlook it by up coming Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new thought. However it’s a single we’re ultimately able to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for quite a while. Let Italy arrive at you.