Some spots aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The kinds of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and spot, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. 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 with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in to the rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth 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 uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza read more was made to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a check out. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, read more primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift since 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 strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present read more a distinct sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single here we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.