Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for autos. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.

There’s not Substantially to complete, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away 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 built right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.

The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and 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 journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains 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. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to state, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.

But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, website ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.

Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” 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 challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a single. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.

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