Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed 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 in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Every single check out includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy 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 Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. more info One that doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — in the “this truly hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy 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 shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.