Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up following noon. The styles of spots the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than tales, over daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional vacationers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.

So in case you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. 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 when you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching in the Sunlight.

There’s not much to perform, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in 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 rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down really makes a visit last longer as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals learn how to love them appropriately — which can be to convey, bit by bit.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s really 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 uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation stories start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a see. Each view contains a breeze.

But it surely’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to 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 unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than a location.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual check here journey — how locations similar to this present a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, nevertheless it benefits people who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place 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 brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 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.