

Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of locations where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs if you finally begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first 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 once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with people? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really would make a trip very last extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which happens to be to state, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get caught in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the top journey stories get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a perspective. Every perspective contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons get their time listed here, and finally, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with click here stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a new piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it benefits those that recognize. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it all over again, viewing anything new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are part of a preservation challenge — trying to keep the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Clever
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap shots. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new concept. But it surely’s one particular we’re ultimately prepared to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.