Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, above life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be affiliated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful method of looking at the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the place. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as 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 really makes a trip last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out 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 good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain caught inside of a dialogue with someone older, let it occur. That’s in which the ideal vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more check here similar to a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a current piece on gradual journey — how spots similar to this present a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits in 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 project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. However it’s just one we’re ultimately ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.