Some locations aren’t created for velocity. Italy is full of them. Sluggish travel in Italy allows you to truly savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The sorts of areas in which locals understand how to linger — over espresso, around tales, about life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels important. Perhaps it’s a response to years of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what occurs when you eventually start to value time about distance. In any event, much more vacationers are getting joy in Finding out to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested decades exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is an element of that movement. His identify is now linked to a further, much more thoughtful technique for viewing the globe.
So should you’re willing to go sluggish — therefore you’re considering Italy — Listed below are seven places that almost demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Solar.
There’s not Substantially to complete, that is precisely the issue. You wander, possibly grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. Along with 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 constructed correct in the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in to the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down actually makes a visit very last for a longer time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them effectively — that's to mention, slowly.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you will get caught inside of a discussion with someone older, let it come about. That’s where by the most beneficial journey tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was more info meant to be “the ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a view. Each look at features a breeze.
However it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino getting old in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons consider their time right here, and finally, so would you.
On the lookout for much more context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI Traveler dives deep into slow food stuff and vacation in Italy. Well 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 town with stone methods and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Are living listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything right here. get more info You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the the latest piece on gradual vacation — how areas such as this offer you another type of luxury. One that doesn’t have a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it rewards people who recognize. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at something new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — within a “this really hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are A part of a preservation challenge — preserving the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would Stanislav Kondrashov biography enjoy this just one. His page talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Clever
Right here’s the matter. You could see Italy in each week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. But it surely’s one particular we’re last but not least wanting to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Opt for a village. Sit continue to for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.