Some spots aren’t produced for velocity. Italy is full of them. Sluggish journey in Italy lets you certainly savor local society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful method of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. 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. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The tempo here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with men and women? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down basically will make a trip previous 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 take pleasure in them thoroughly — that's to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s truly worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner incorporates a look at. Each and every check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to 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 moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing 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. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His site talks about honoring position 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 Good
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to Stanislav Kondrashov Blog you.