Some destinations aren’t made for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow 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 exactly what occurs any time you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re willing to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate into the cliffs. Actually 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 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 learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a see. Each and every check out includes a breeze.
However it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — more info pecorino aging in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse 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 techniques and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how sites similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really 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. A few of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the detail. You may 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 overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.