Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place any time you finally start to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title is now connected with a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace 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, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, little by little.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well 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 discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like residing rooms.
If you will get trapped in a very conversation with somebody older, Enable it occur. That’s where by the very best travel 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 corner provides a watch. Every single look at provides a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t rush everything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for extra context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the study prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations like this offer a distinct sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — inside a “this essentially hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Section of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a person. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. get more info But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by up coming Tuesday?
Journey such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh strategy. But it surely’s one particular we’re ultimately all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Choose a village. Sit however for some time. Let Italy come to you.