Some sites aren’t built for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy allows you to genuinely savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars. Cafés that only fill up following noon. The kinds of spots wherever locals know how to linger — over espresso, about tales, above daily life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a nice concept. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to yrs of dashing. Or possibly it’s just what occurs once you eventually start to worth time around distance. Either way, additional travelers are discovering Pleasure in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used a long time Discovering how we hook up with tradition and area, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be linked to a further, more thoughtful method of observing the whole world.
So in the event you’re wanting to go slow — and you simply’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated route, and once you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunshine.
There’s not Substantially to complete, which happens to be precisely the point. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built ideal in the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears to the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of journey sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down really will make a visit very last for a longer period inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which happens to be to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of city that’s well worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits good. You’ll discover church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that experience far more like living rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with a person more mature, Enable more info it take place. That’s wherever the very best journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was built to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner incorporates a watch. Each individual view incorporates a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting older in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks consider their time here, and finally, so do you.
Seeking more context on why in this manner of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live listed here. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels far more similar to a mood than a desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to click here you.
Forbes captured this sensation in the new piece on sluggish journey — how destinations such as this offer a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a city website that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that recognize. You stroll the loop after which you can stroll it all over again, seeing a little something 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 demonstrates its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — in a very “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would read more enjoy this 1. His website page talks about honoring area and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s very little flashy below, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Intelligent
Listed here’s the factor. You can see Italy in every week. You may strike the highlights. Snap shots. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. However it’s a single we’re last but not least willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit continue to for some time. Let Italy come to you.