Some sites aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs if you finally begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if 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 happens to be precisely the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little 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 in to the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, 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 browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new 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 everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who observe. website You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically 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. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.