Some locations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy lets you definitely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. 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. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous more time with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly.
There’s a watch from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with someone older, let it occur. That’s wherever the best vacation tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner provides a look at. Every single look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, largely — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and finally, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy 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 right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that notice. You stroll the loop and then 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 selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But get more info will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it surely’s a single we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.