Some places aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy permits you to certainly savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for autos. Cafés that only replenish following noon. The forms of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time about length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note 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 crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, 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 discover why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down really tends to make a trip last lengthier with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them effectively — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — check here pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey 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 unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything at all here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a the latest piece on sluggish vacation — how locations similar to this provide a different sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have 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 awareness, but it surely rewards people that detect. You wander the loop after which you can stroll it again, viewing some thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the past alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this 1. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Below’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new notion. But it really’s a person we’re eventually able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for some time. Let Italy arrive at you.