Some places aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, about tales, above everyday living.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to decades of dashing. Or possibly it’s just what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time about length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title has become related to a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the whole world.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.

The rate Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female 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 appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

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

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting get more info older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and travel in Italy. 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 concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation within a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden 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 part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. But it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.