Some destinations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy permits you to actually savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that's precisely the point. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
But it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well 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 actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such check here as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop then wander it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some 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 a person. His web page talks about honoring area and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Intelligent
Right here’s the point. It is possible to see Italy in weekly. You may hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it really’s just one we’re ultimately prepared to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.