Some locations aren’t designed for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what comes about once you eventually begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended 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 further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So for those who’re prepared to go slow — and you also’re contemplating Italy — Here i will discuss 7 spots that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching from the Sunlight.
There’s not much to carry out, that's precisely the position. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed ideal into the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears to the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight 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 inside a discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the best vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect 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 city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a read more “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place 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.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation 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 finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.