Some destinations aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy lets you certainly savor local culture, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following noon. The sorts of spots where by locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, more than life.

In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a good plan. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a reaction to many years of rushing. Or possibly it’s just what happens if you finally begin to value time around length. Either way, additional travelers are locating joy in Mastering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested many years Discovering how we hook up with culture and put, is part of that movement. His title has grown to be related to a deeper, additional thoughtful means of seeing the globe.

So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that pretty much desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and when you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Little gardens. One cat stretching from the Sunshine.

There’s not much to do, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. 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 sort of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper into your cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.

The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly will make a trip past for a longer period in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Peaceful, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them effectively — which is to say, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.

If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.

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

Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today get their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.

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

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would here appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.