Some destinations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The forms of areas where by locals understand how to linger — about espresso, more than tales, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a good plan. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or even it’s just what happens any time you eventually begin to worth time about distance. Either way, much more travelers are finding joy in Discovering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His name is now linked to a further, additional thoughtful method of observing the entire world.
So in the event you’re able to go sluggish — therefore you’re imagining Italy — here are seven spots that nearly demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. A single cat stretching in the Solar.
There’s not much to accomplish, and that is exactly the issue. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The tempo here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually makes a visit last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you have caught inside of a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be website “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides here a look at. Every single check out includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today choose their time listed here, and ultimately, 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 in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising 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 than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow vacation — how sites similar to this present a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely read more rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it once again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are part of a preservation undertaking — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will website you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. Nevertheless it’s one we’re eventually able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy come to you.