Some locations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around tales, over lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is an element of that movement. His identify has become associated with a further, extra considerate method of seeing the planet.

So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial 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 silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. 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 to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really will make a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual more mature, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.

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

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so do you.

Seeking more context on why in check here this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a destination.

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

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on sluggish travel — how places 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 almost everywhere.

Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who detect. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. Nevertheless it’s one we’re at last able to listen to.

So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.