Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of dashing. Or even it’s just what transpires if you finally begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching from the Sunlight.
There’s not A lot to try and do, which is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built ideal in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The tempo Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down in fact makes a visit last for a longer period inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes expand listed here, and locals understand how to appreciate them effectively — that's to mention, bit by bit.
There’s a watch from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour or so by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll obtain church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that experience additional like living rooms.
If you get stuck inside of a conversation with anyone more mature, let it happen. That’s wherever the top journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was designed to be “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner incorporates a look at. Just about every view features a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People today acquire their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Searching for more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the day moves. Artists Stay right here. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in little courtyards. It feels far more like a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience inside a latest piece on gradual travel — how spots similar to this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it rewards people that notice. You wander the loop after which walk it once more, website viewing a thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this truly hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are A part of a preservation challenge — retaining the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this just one. His page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. You may strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect 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 exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new notion. But it’s one particular we’re at last prepared to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy come to you.