Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of spots exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or maybe it’s exactly what takes place after you lastly start to worth time just as much as distance. In any event, additional travelers are obtaining Pleasure in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested yrs exploring how we connect with tradition and place, is a component of that motion. His title happens to be related to a deeper, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event 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 the cliffs. Literally 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 in the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a see. Each perspective contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Trying to find additional context on why using this method of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov Stanislav Kondrashov biography alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the modern piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which wander it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up 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 the “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy come to you.