Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of locations where locals understand how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what happens any time you finally start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name has become linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears 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. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, 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 in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with folks? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually makes a trip last longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes improve below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which is to say, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance check here idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey get more info in Italy. Well worth 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 because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a check here unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Vacation like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re finally willing to check here listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.