Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a deeper, additional thoughtful method of seeing the whole world.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to try and do, and that is 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 the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to 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 understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down really makes a visit last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them effectively — which is to mention, slowly but surely.

There’s a look at from the sting website of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting 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 extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone methods and unforeseen murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live in this article. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than the usual location.

Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You Permit it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on sluggish travel — how places like this provide another sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits during 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 guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a person. His site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Intelligent
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could strike the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by future Tuesday?

Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh strategy. But it surely’s a single we’re last but not least prepared to listen to.

So go. Slowly but surely. Go with a village. Sit continue to for a while. Enable Italy come to you.