Some destinations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, above life.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs if you at last begin to value time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a deeper, a lot more considerate technique for observing the globe.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 learn why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final lengthier in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you get stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Just about every watch incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.

In search of much more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual desired destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it rewards those that see. You walk the loop then wander it once again, looking at a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of 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. Several of the inns are part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends 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 absolutely nothing flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation like here this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.