Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy enables you to actually savor regional culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own tempo.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for vehicles. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of coffee, about tales, above everyday living.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of speeding. Or even it’s just what takes place when you lastly begin to worth time just as much as distance. In any case, additional travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 spots that basically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This publish 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. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve here, and locals understand how to appreciate them adequately — which can be to state, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city 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 end, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.

In search of more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone check here techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.

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

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

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.