

Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful technique for looking at the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, 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 position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact tends to make a visit previous for a longer time inside 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 right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain churches with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best town,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s here compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You received’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time below, and ultimately, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience inside a modern piece on slow vacation — how sites similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in per week. It is possible to 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 such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.