Some locations aren’t designed for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female 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 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 Sunshine.

There’s not much to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice 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 correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the 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 discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially would make a trip past extended with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see 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 just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the best vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and here finally, so do you.

Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in tiny courtyards. It feels much more similar to a temper than the usual location.

Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything listed here. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this experience in the current piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxurious. One which doesn’t have a selling price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it again, observing some thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Sensible
Below’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. But it’s 1 we’re eventually able to listen to.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.