Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, more than lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are discovering joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady 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 adequately — which can be to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. 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 come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much 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 town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so would you.
Trying to find additional context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 as being the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas similar to this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely benefits people that discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing a little 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 when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are click here pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees 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 causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may 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 what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.