Some sites aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy permits you to certainly savor neighborhood lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal speed.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish following noon. The kinds of locations the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of coffee, about stories, over existence.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional vacationers are acquiring joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Checking out how we connect with culture and place, is part of that movement. His name is now associated with a deeper, extra thoughtful strategy for seeing the whole world.
So when you’re all set to go slow — therefore you’re pondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which can be precisely the position. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to note the light. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed right in the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The tempo Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with folks? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down basically would make a visit last lengthier inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals learn how to enjoy them effectively — which can be to convey, slowly but surely.
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 unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single watch includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than get more info the usual desired destination.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits those that see. You wander the loop after which wander it yet again, observing one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly 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 Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You could see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.