Some sites aren’t built for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to really savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, about lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time about length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect to lifestyle and put, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable in to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes develop listed here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the top check here journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was created to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely read more — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being get more info the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it rewards people who observe. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it once again, viewing 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 side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Section of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the detail. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a more info different thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.