Some places aren’t made for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for cars. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of places where locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, around tales, in excess of life.

In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs when you at last start to value time up to length. Either way, extra vacationers are acquiring joy in Finding out to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect to tradition and position, is a component of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for looking at the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be 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 total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case 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. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.

The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really 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 churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the ideal travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out has a breeze.

But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today get their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to 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 unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in tiny courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience in the modern 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 observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing something new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, read more a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation task — preserving 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 in this article, 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 ignore it by following Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it’s one particular we’re last but not least prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.