Some areas aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy permits you to actually savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The varieties of sites exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, above tales, around existence.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. Probably it’s a reaction to yrs of speeding. Or even it’s just what transpires when you eventually begin to value time just as much as length. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and position, is part of that movement. His name is now connected to a deeper, far more considerate strategy for viewing the globe.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Allow me to share 7 places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You stroll across a lengthy, elevated path, and once you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Tiny gardens. A single cat stretching from the Sunshine.
There’s not Substantially to do, that's exactly the stage. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate in to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of travel sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down really tends to make a visit final more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase right here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them correctly — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of town that’s truly worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits excellent. You’ll obtain church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that feel much more like dwelling rooms.
If you obtain caught within a conversation with somebody more mature, let it happen. That’s exactly where the very best journey tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was meant to be “an ideal town,” and Actually, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner includes a perspective. Every single perspective includes a breeze.
But it really’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, mostly — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People consider their time listed here, and at some point, so do you.
In search of extra context on why using this method of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Well worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a temper than a desired destination.
Sunsets hit distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything right here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a recent piece on gradual travel — how areas like this offer another form of luxury. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals who recognize. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it once again, looking at something new each 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 shows its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — in the “this in fact hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are A part of a preservation task — keeping the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this a person. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy below, that is what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Smart
Right here’s the issue. You can see Italy in per week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you ignore it by next Tuesday?
Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov read more believes in. It’s not a new strategy. But it surely’s just one we’re last but not least able to hear.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.