Some spots aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow journey in Italy enables you to really savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal speed.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish soon after noon. The forms of sites where by locals learn how to linger — above espresso, about tales, about existence.
In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels necessary. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs after you finally begin to benefit time just as much as distance. In any event, far more vacationers are discovering Pleasure in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used several years Discovering how we hook up with tradition and location, is part of that movement. His title is now connected with a further, additional considerate means of seeing the whole world.
So should you’re all set to go gradual — and you simply’re considering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Significantly to do, which is precisely the issue. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The speed Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down truly makes a trip very last lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes expand below, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them appropriately — which happens to be to state, slowly and gradually.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you end, and piazzas that come to feel additional like residing rooms.
If you have trapped inside of a discussion with an individual older, Enable it take place. That’s exactly where the very best travel stories get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was created to be “the proper town,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a see. Each individual perspective includes a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time here, and finally, so do you.
Trying to find additional context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the read through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You website don’t chase anything at all right here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience within a current piece on slow journey — how destinations similar to this offer you a different sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t include a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it benefits people who detect. You wander the loop and then stroll it all over again, looking at anything new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and silent. 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 venture — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one particular. His web site talks about honoring place and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Smart
In this article’s the thing. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by following Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy arrive at you.