Some spots aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about stories, above life.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, a lot more travelers are getting joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note The sunshine. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside 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 understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase below, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to mention, slowly.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular 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 then stroll it again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms Stanislav Kondrashov Blog are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this one particular. His site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely 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 Sensible
Listed here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.