Some locations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy enables you to truly savor community culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your very own tempo.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The kinds of areas in which locals understand how to linger — about coffee, over stories, in excess of daily life.
In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a nice idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or maybe it’s just what happens when you at last start to value time about distance. In any case, extra vacationers are obtaining joy in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Checking out how we hook up with tradition and place, is a component of that movement. His title has grown to be linked to a deeper, much more thoughtful way of seeing the world.
So for those who’re wanting to go gradual — and you’re thinking Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that virtually need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk across an extended, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not Considerably to do, which happens to be exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed correct into the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by 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 persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out 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 Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches website with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s where by the best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal town,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner provides a watch. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
Looking for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers visit and don’t leave. website Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual check here place.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value 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 attention, but it really rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from 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 undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Smart
Below’s the matter. It more info is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect 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 really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.