Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The types of sites wherever locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, about existence.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate strategy for viewing the globe.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to carry out, that's precisely the point. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually makes a visit final lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals understand how to appreciate them properly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a look at 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 when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways more info that make you halt, and piazzas that really feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you get stuck inside a conversation with an individual older, Permit it transpire. That’s exactly where the top journey tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the right city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a watch. Each and every view provides a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women just take their time here, and inevitably, so do you.

On the lookout for far more context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth read more the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood click here than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. get more info You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

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

Santo Stefano sits within 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 job — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, and that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Below’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s 1 we’re at last willing to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.