Some sites aren’t designed for speed. Italy is full of them. Slow travel in Italy means that you can truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, over everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs any time you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, far more travelers are obtaining Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are seven places that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
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 developed suitable in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is check here wine region. Silent, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them properly — that's to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped inside a conversation with a person older, Enable it occur. That’s in which the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion 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 plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how sites similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that check here observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within 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 — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, which is what can here make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. website Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.