Some sites aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to genuinely savor neighborhood society, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The sorts of sites wherever locals learn how to linger — around coffee, above tales, over everyday living.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good notion. It feels necessary. Probably it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or even it’s just what happens any time you last but not least start to value time around length. In either case, additional travelers are finding joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used several years Discovering how we hook up with culture and spot, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be connected to a further, extra considerate way of seeing the planet.

So in case you’re ready to go slow — and you’re considering Italy — Here's 7 places that nearly need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and after you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching from the Solar.

There’s not A lot to do, that is exactly the issue. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.

The speed Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to find out why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit very last for a longer period with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals know how to delight in them adequately — which happens to be to state, gradually.

There’s a check out from the edge 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 uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that get more info make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you have stuck inside a dialogue with another person more mature, Allow get more info it materialize. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was meant to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a check out. Each see incorporates a breeze.

However it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting old in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You gained’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People today choose their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.

Trying to find extra context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone measures and unanticipated murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in little courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit unique in get more info Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything right here. You let it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation in the new piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations similar to this provide another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a value tag.

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

Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, however it benefits people who discover. You wander the loop then wander it once again, viewing one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside a “this actually 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. Several of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — retaining the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy below, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the matter. You could see Italy in per week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you neglect it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov more info believes in. It’s not a different strategy. Nonetheless it’s a single we’re eventually able to listen to.

So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.