Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy allows you to really savor community tradition, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The varieties of places where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about existence.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you finally start to benefit time about length. Either way, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to culture and place, is a component of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, additional thoughtful means of seeing the planet.

So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the sun.

There’s not Considerably to do, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You start to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.

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 correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that sort of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — and that is to state, bit by bit.

There’s a check out 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 in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you will get caught inside of a conversation with anyone more mature, let it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Each see has a breeze.

But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells wonderful. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons choose their time here, and at some point, so do you.

On the lookout for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live in this article. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a location.

Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything right here. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured Stanisav Kondrashov tarvel this feeling within a modern piece on gradual vacation — how places similar to this give a unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. 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 what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately ready to hear.

So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.