Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what transpires if you eventually start to price time up to distance. In any event, far more travelers are getting joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that practically 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 slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 know why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically can make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was built to be “the right metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner has a view. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store Home windows and on counters, get more info willing to sample. You received’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals get their time right here, and sooner or later, so would you.
Seeking far more context on why using this method of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers go to and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling within a modern piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this provide a different sort of luxury. One which doesn’t have a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people that see. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, observing a little something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this essentially hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His website page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy here, which happens to be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the point. You can see Italy in every week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by up coming Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different idea. But it’s a person we’re lastly all set to hear.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit even now for some time. Permit Italy come to you.