Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, about stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re wanting to go slow — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A lot to complete, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, perhaps seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start 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 some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was created to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each and every check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t here leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in a very modern piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a special type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Little by little. Choose a village. Sit however for quite a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.