Some spots aren’t designed for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to really savor regional tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The sorts of areas the place locals understand how to linger — in excess of coffee, more than tales, in excess of daily life.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or maybe it’s just what takes place whenever you eventually begin to price time up to length. Either way, additional vacationers are locating Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we connect to lifestyle and place, is a component of that motion. His identify has grown to be related to a deeper, much more considerate method of looking at the planet.
So for those who’re wanting to go sluggish — and you simply’re considering Italy — here are seven spots that practically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a lengthy, elevated path, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which is exactly the stage. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper in the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The tempo Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding as a result 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 folks? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially will make a visit very last for a longer time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them correctly — which is to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s worthy of an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the sun hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck in a dialogue with somebody older, Allow it happen. That’s where the best journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the proper city,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner provides a perspective. Each individual see provides a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells amazing. Cheese, mostly — pecorino ageing in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People take their time right here, and finally, so would you.
Searching for far more context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and journey in Italy. Worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill here town with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift given that the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the current piece on slow travel — how sites similar to this provide a different sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it rewards individuals that recognize. You wander the loop then stroll it again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — in the “this truly hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Component of a preservation project — holding the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this 1. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing flashy right here, and that is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Good
In this article’s the factor. You could see Italy in a week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by following Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new plan. But it surely’s one particular we’re eventually able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Opt for a village. Sit even now for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.