Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The types of sites where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, around stories, in excess of existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s just what takes place when you last but not least begin to price time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be associated with a further, additional considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — so you’re contemplating Italy — Here's 7 places that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not much to perform, that's precisely the stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them thoroughly — that's to convey, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it take place. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old read more in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives Stanislav Kondrashov biography deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 ways and surprising murals and shadows that change because the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase something listed here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer a different Kondrashov Stanislav form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those that see. You walk the loop and then stroll it again, viewing 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 shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo check here Stefano sits from 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 — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this just one. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy right here, that's what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Smart
In this article’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it’s 1 we’re ultimately prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.