Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Gradual vacation in Italy lets you certainly savor community culture, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual pace.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for vehicles. Cafés that only refill following noon. The styles of spots where by locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, around stories, over everyday living.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or even it’s precisely what takes place any time you finally start to price time about distance. In any event, additional travelers are acquiring joy in Discovering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used a long time exploring how we connect with tradition and spot, is a component of that movement. His identify is now connected with a further, extra considerate strategy for viewing the planet.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Here's seven spots that basically demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone homes. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching in the Solar.
There’s not much to accomplish, that's precisely the place. You wander, probably grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built suitable into your cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The speed Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down really would make a visit past extended in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals know how to delight in them appropriately — which is to say, slowly.
There’s a look at from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that truly feel much more like living rooms.
If you can get caught in a very dialogue with anyone older, Permit it take place. That’s where by the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was built to be “the right metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner provides a see. Each and every perspective incorporates a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells wonderful. Cheese, primarily — pecorino aging in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons just take their time right here, and eventually, so more info would you.
Searching for far more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift as the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the latest piece on sluggish vacation — how areas like this supply a unique style of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it benefits individuals who observe. You wander the loop after which stroll it once again, seeing something new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation undertaking — retaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a single. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy in this article, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Good
Below’s the matter. You may see Italy in per week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by following Tuesday?
Journey such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new concept. But it really’s just one we’re last but not least all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Choose a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.