Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of places where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to years of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in 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 understand why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip past for a longer period with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll click here obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.

If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel tales commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual perspective provides a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People choose their time in this article, and finally, so do you.

Looking for additional context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine before you go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.

Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You walk the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made 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 — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during 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 recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring position and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. 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 what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.