Some destinations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy lets you definitely savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time about length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is a component of that movement. His name has become related to a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
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 wander across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone houses. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s in which the top 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 see has a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the read 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. 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 come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places such as this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout website for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few 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 silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. It is possible to see Italy in a week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by future Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it really’s one particular we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.