Some places aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy helps you to actually savor local tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The types of locations wherever locals understand how to linger — in excess of coffee, over tales, above daily life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant plan. It feels necessary. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires if you lastly start to worth time as much as length. Either way, additional vacationers are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs exploring how we hook up with culture and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the whole world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go sluggish — so you’re contemplating Italy — Here's 7 spots that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, which happens to be precisely the position. You wander, possibly grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to notice The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created correct in the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into your rocks.
The pace Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the 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 discover why that kind of travel sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly would make a visit previous for a longer period in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — and that is to say, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of town that’s more info worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits excellent. You’ll find church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like living rooms.
If you receive caught in a discussion with someone more mature, let it transpire. That’s in which the most beneficial vacation tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was meant to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each individual look at has a breeze.
However it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks just take their time below, and inevitably, so would you.
Trying to find far more context on why using this method of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and travel in Italy. Well worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change since the working day moves. Artists Stay listed here. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this offer you a special form of luxury. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards individuals that observe. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Section of a preservation task — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by future Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new plan. But it’s 1 we’re ultimately willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly but surely. Opt for a village. Sit however for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.