Some sites aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow vacation in Italy helps you to truly savor regional culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires after you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become related to a further, additional thoughtful method of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of city 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 obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you read more cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a watch. Just about every look at features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing 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 in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding 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 steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish travel — how destinations such as this present a distinct style of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nonetheless it rewards people that observe. You wander the loop then walk it all over again, observing a little something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot 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 put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s a single we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.