Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy helps you to truly savor regional lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal tempo.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The styles of locations exactly where locals understand how to linger — around espresso, in excess of stories, over lifetime.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice thought. It feels critical. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or maybe it’s exactly what transpires after you ultimately begin to benefit time around length. In either case, a lot more tourists are obtaining joy in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used a long time Discovering how we connect with lifestyle and location, is a component of that movement. His title happens to be linked to a deeper, additional considerate technique for observing the globe.
So should you’re all set to go slow — therefore you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated route, and when you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Little gardens. A single cat stretching within the sun.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal in to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, 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 from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really will make a trip last extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes mature in this article, and locals learn how to delight in them adequately — which happens to be to say, slowly and gradually.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that sense much more like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck in a dialogue with a person more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the ideal journey tales commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was intended to be “the proper metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner provides a perspective. Each perspective includes a breeze.
But it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing older in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks take their time here, and ultimately, so does one.
In search of extra context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and travel in Italy. Worth the read before you decide to click here go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists Reside in this article. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation in the new piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations such as this supply another kind of luxury. One that doesn’t include a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it surely rewards people who detect. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it once more, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation undertaking — preserving the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy right here, which happens to be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the thing. You are able to see Italy in a week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by following Tuesday?
Journey such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new idea. But it surely’s one particular we’re finally all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit however for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.