Some areas aren’t created for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to really savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for looking at the globe.
So in case you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one more info hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with someone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s in which the top travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was intended to be “the ideal metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a view. Every check out provides a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women get their time listed here, and ultimately, so does one.
On the lookout for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Well worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unforeseen murals and shadows that change since the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by subsequent Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.