Some places aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy permits you to certainly savor regional lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The sorts of sites wherever locals know how to linger — more than coffee, above stories, over life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels essential. Maybe it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what takes place when you ultimately begin to price time around length. In either case, far more tourists are finding joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested many years Discovering how we hook up with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has become associated with a further, far more thoughtful strategy for seeing the globe.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and also you’re contemplating Italy — Here's 7 spots that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Solar.
There’s not A great deal to complete, which happens to be exactly the place. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed correct into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears to the rocks.
The pace here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of journey sticks with people? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually tends to make a visit very last extended inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals know how to appreciate them correctly — which is to convey, slowly.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that truly feel more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a discussion with another person more mature, Enable it transpire. That’s the place the best travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal town,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a perspective. Each individual perspective has a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells amazing. Cheese, primarily — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush everything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks choose their time right here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers visit and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in little courtyards. It feels far more like a mood than the usual location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling within a latest piece on slow vacation — how places such as this supply a unique kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it benefits individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which you can stroll it yet again, looking at some thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are A part of a preservation job — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy below, which can be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Right here’s the issue. You can see Italy in a week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by following Tuesday?
Travel like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is more info exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh plan. But it’s a single we’re at last ready to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy arrive at you.