Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in 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 men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught 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 designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on gradual travel — how locations similar get more info to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag 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 notice, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this essentially hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the thing. You could see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.