Some destinations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to many years 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, extra tourists are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the globe.

So in case you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.

There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine at a tucked-away 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 kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact would make a visit last longer in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.

There’s a look at from the sting of town that’s truly worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like living rooms.

If you receive caught in a very dialogue with anyone older, Enable it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was meant to be read more “an ideal metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner includes a check out. Each view features a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks get their time listed here, and sooner or later, so do you.

Seeking additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the day moves. Artists Stay right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels more just like a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience in a very modern piece on sluggish journey — how spots like this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

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

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.

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

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?

Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.