Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The sorts of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, much more tourists are obtaining joy in Studying to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice 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 constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse 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 read more moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside a recent piece on slow journey — how places such as this present another style of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals who see. You walk the loop after which you can stroll it all over again, viewing one thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation venture — keeping the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Wise
In this article’s the point. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by future Tuesday?
Travel like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different plan. But it surely’s one particular we’re eventually able to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Select a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Permit Italy come to you.