Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to really savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than life.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate technique for looking at the whole world.

So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that pretty much demand 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 quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel more like living rooms.

If you will get caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each see has a breeze.

But get more info it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, mostly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation in the modern piece on slow vacation — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in 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 Section of a preservation job — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.