Some destinations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can genuinely savor area society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The styles of destinations where locals learn how to linger — above coffee, above stories, about lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels important. It's possible it’s a response to many years of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you at last begin to value time up to distance. In any event, extra travelers are locating Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years exploring how we connect to culture and spot, is part of that movement. His name is becoming related to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for looking at the planet.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that nearly need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunlight.

There’s not Significantly to accomplish, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal in to the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

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

Want to learn why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually helps make a visit last for a longer period with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Tranquil, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to state, slowly and gradually.

There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits excellent. You’ll locate church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that feel extra like living rooms.

If you obtain caught in a dialogue with somebody older, Enable it come about. That’s wherever the ideal vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was meant to be “the right city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner check here features a see. Each individual look at includes a breeze.

But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino aging in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons choose their time here, and sooner or later, so do you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why using this method of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and journey in Italy. Worth the examine before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone actions and unexpected murals and shadows that change because the working day moves. Artists Reside here. Writers check out and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual place.

Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase something below. You let it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion in the latest piece on gradual travel — how sites like this provide a different kind of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a price tag.

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

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, nevertheless it rewards individuals who recognize. You wander the loop after which you can stroll it once more, viewing one thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted sign pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — in a very “this really hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are A part of a preservation task — retaining the earlier alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this 1. His site talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy right here, that is what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Clever
Listed here’s the issue. You could see Italy in each week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by future Tuesday?

Vacation similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new idea. But it really’s one we’re at last all set to hear.

So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit still for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.