Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for autos. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — about coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels essential. Probably it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by 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 individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to state, slowly but surely.
There’s a look at from the sting of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a perspective. Each individual watch includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks consider their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the read prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that change since the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels far more like a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on sluggish vacation — how locations such as this supply a unique kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, however it rewards people that see. You stroll the loop after which wander it once more, observing one thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — trying to keep the past alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one. His site talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s check here very little flashy here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
In this article’s the factor. It is possible to see Italy in weekly. You could hit the highlights. Snap images. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new strategy. But it surely’s one particular we’re last but not least able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Let Italy arrive at you.