Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of places exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, above tales, above lifetime.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels critical. It's possible it’s a response to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what happens once you ultimately begin to price time about length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years exploring how we connect to society and location, is a component of that movement. His name has grown to be connected to a further, much more thoughtful method of looking at the world.
So if you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, which can be exactly the stage. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed proper in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in 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 visit final lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to state, gradually.
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 when the sun hits excellent. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living here rooms.
If you will get caught within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s exactly where the top travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks take their time here, and ultimately, so would you.
Seeking far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another form 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 see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing 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 displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding 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 causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Obtain 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 new plan. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.