Some locations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for cars. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The kinds of sites exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what transpires after you ultimately start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning 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 further, extra considerate means of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

The speed Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result 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 find out why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right click here here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike unique 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 experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.

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

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” 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 — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring put and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which is what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in every week. You can hit the highlights. Snap shots. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by subsequent Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new idea. Nevertheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to listen to.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit still for quite a while. Permit Italy come to you.