Some places aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy permits you to really savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The forms of places where locals know how to linger — over coffee, above stories, about life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or maybe it’s exactly what occurs if you finally begin to worth time up to distance. Either way, more tourists are obtaining Pleasure in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that movement. His identify is becoming connected to a further, additional thoughtful strategy for seeing the earth.
So in case you’re prepared to go sluggish — and you simply’re pondering Italy — here are 7 places that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a protracted, elevated route, and after you arrive, it’s silent. Stone homes. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching from the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to try and do, and that is exactly the place. You wander, probably get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears in to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last for a longer period in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
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 features a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even website buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it surely rewards people that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — in the “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are part of a preservation challenge — maintaining the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one particular. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy here, which happens to be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Intelligent
Listed here’s the factor. You could see Italy in per week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by next Tuesday?
Travel like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. However it’s a person we’re last but not least willing to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Let Italy arrive at you.