Some destinations aren’t made 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 personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place when you ultimately start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful way of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in 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 essentially can make a visit past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, click here distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where by the best 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. Each individual corner contains a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in shop Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks just take their time in this article, and finally, so do you.
In search of extra context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and journey in Italy. Worth the go through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change because the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on gradual journey — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows 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 modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy come to you.