Some locations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to really savor nearby society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — around espresso, over stories, around existence.

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is part of that movement. His identify is now associated with a further, extra considerate means of seeing the planet.

So in the event you’re ready to go sluggish — and also you’re pondering Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.

There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.

The tempo Here's gradual, 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 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 publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last 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 properly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like living rooms.

If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill town with website stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right 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 distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on gradual vacation — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during 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 a person. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain 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 idea. But it’s a person we’re finally prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.