Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to genuinely savor community society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra travelers are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering 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 effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early 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 understand why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop listed here, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino ageing in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the read 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 unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this read more sensation inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who detect. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation job — keeping the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
In this article’s the factor. You may see Italy in each week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by upcoming Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.