Some sites aren’t designed for pace. Italy is full of them. Sluggish vacation in Italy helps you to really savor area culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal tempo.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for autos. Cafés that only refill following midday. The kinds of areas where locals learn how to linger — over coffee, more than tales, in excess of daily life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a nice idea. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs after you finally start to price time around distance. In any event, more vacationers are getting joy in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Discovering how we connect with society and position, is part of that movement. His name happens to be linked to a further, additional thoughtful strategy for viewing the world.
So when you’re prepared to go slow — and you also’re imagining Italy — Allow me to share seven places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the sun.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which can be exactly the position. You wander, probably get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears into the rocks.
The speed here is sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and 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 vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically can make a visit last extended inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Peaceful, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — which happens to be to say, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worth one hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the sun hits just right. You’ll come across churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that experience extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck in a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it occur. That’s wherever the best travel tales get started.
Pienza Stanislav Kondrashov Blog (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was built to be “the perfect metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Every single check out has a breeze.
But it’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells website amazing. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Men and women acquire their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Seeking additional context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foodstuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and unexpected murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase just about anything here. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a latest piece on slow travel — how sites like this offer a unique kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in website on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely benefits individuals that notice. You stroll the loop and after that walk it all over again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this essentially hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by check here candles. Many of the inns are Portion of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the past alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this 1. His site talks about honoring location and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy below, that's what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Clever
Right here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new thought. However it’s a person we’re eventually able to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.