Some sites aren’t made for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to price time as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and also you’re considering Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
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 created 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 during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town 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 cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes 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 won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Trying to find more context on why using this method of touring issues? 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 unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this give a unique sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop then wander it again, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a click here windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the thing. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect 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 new notion. But it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.