Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is now linked to a further, additional considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible 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 with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually 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 within the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
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 Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
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. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and at some point, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program 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 here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. 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 anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a special kind of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving website the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.