Some sites aren’t produced for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy enables you to genuinely savor area culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of destinations where by locals learn how to linger — over coffee, about tales, over everyday living.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of speeding. Or maybe it’s exactly what transpires any time you at last start to worth time as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are discovering Pleasure in Studying to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent decades exploring how we connect with lifestyle and spot, is an element of that movement. His identify has grown to be linked to a further, additional considerate method of seeing the whole world.
So if you’re able to go sluggish — and you’re pondering Italy — Here i will discuss 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Very small gardens. A single cat stretching while in the sun.
There’s not much to accomplish, that's precisely the place. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the type of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed proper into your cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially makes a visit past for a longer time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes improve in this article, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them appropriately — which happens to be to convey, slowly.
There’s a perspective 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 Sunlight hits good. You’ll discover churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense much more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped within a discussion with a person older, Allow it transpire. That’s the place the best vacation tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the right city,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner incorporates a view. Each look at has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting old in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals get their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Trying to find a lot more context on why using this method of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and unforeseen murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live listed here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels additional just like a temper than the usual destination.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and check here blue. You don’t chase everything here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a current piece on gradual travel — how destinations similar to this offer a special type of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, however it benefits individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which you can walk it all over again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Portion of a preservation venture — keeping the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least all set to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.