Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The kinds of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Each and every see provides a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and finally, so do you.
Trying to find 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 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 unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the working day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this check here offer you a distinct kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up 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. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re eventually able to hear.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.