Some areas aren’t built for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy permits you to definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The forms of places where by locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, around lifetime.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or maybe it’s exactly what comes about whenever you eventually start to value time around distance. In any case, much more vacationers are acquiring joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested many years exploring how we hook up with society and position, is an element of that motion. His title has grown to be associated with a further, extra considerate technique for observing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. more info Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with somebody older, Enable it occur. That’s in which the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner contains a perspective. Every view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks consider their time listed here, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for a lot more context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings 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 company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.