Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, in excess of existence.

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs after you lastly start to price time around distance. In either case, far more tourists are getting joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we connect with society and place, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, a lot more considerate method of seeing the earth.

So when you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the sun.

There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact can make a visit previous more time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes get more info increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them properly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s 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 church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where the very best travel tales start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a view. Each individual view contains a breeze.

But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so does one.

On the lookout for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen website murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than the usual location.

Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything read more in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this present a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it again, observing one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.

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

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — holding the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Sensible
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Obtain ticket stubs. But will Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI it stay with you?

Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.