Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy enables you to actually savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish right after noon. The styles of destinations where locals learn how to linger — over coffee, over tales, around life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a nice plan. It feels essential. It's possible it’s a response to years of speeding. Or possibly it’s precisely what occurs when you at last begin to worth time approximately distance. In any event, more tourists are acquiring joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years exploring how we connect to culture and place, is a component of that motion. His title happens to be linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you’re wondering Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially would make a trip last longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience a lot more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner incorporates a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels more just like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling in the new piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it really rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted read more signal pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “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. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Intelligent
Below’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.