Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up soon after noon. The styles of spots where locals understand how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra travelers are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is a component of that movement. His name has become related to a further, extra considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with 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 persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense much more like residing rooms.
If you obtain caught in a very dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more like a mood than the usual location.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give another sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular 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, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop after which you can stroll it all over again, viewing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication get more info pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during 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 task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.