Some sites aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that virtually desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Considerably to complete, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s 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 end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the most website effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a perspective. Just about every look at has a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood 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 sensation inside a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can 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 selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.