Some locations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after noon. The sorts of areas the place locals know how to linger — over coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs exploring how we connect with society and area, is an element of that movement. His name has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Basically 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 in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to state, little read more by little.
There’s a watch 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 if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best vacation tales start off.
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 has a perspective. Just about every look at features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. 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 town with stone ways and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places such as this supply a special kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation undertaking — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely 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. Let Italy come to you.