Some areas aren’t made for velocity. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy enables you to certainly savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for autos. Cafés that only replenish following midday. The sorts of places wherever locals learn how to linger — over coffee, around stories, around everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of speeding. Or possibly it’s just what takes place when you last but not least begin to price time as much as distance. In any event, far more tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title has become connected to a further, more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So should you’re willing to go sluggish — and you simply’re considering Italy — Listed here are seven places that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching while in the Sunlight.
There’s not Considerably to accomplish, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You start to notice The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in to the rocks.
The speed Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with people today? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down really would make a trip previous longer with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow here, and locals learn how to appreciate click here them correctly — which can be to say, gradually.
There’s a see from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll come across churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that really feel much more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck in a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal travel stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was intended to be “the perfect city,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner includes a check out. Just about every watch provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks consider their time in this article, and finally, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and journey in Italy. Well worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unanticipated murals and shadows that change since the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than the usual location.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything below. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the current piece on sluggish travel — how destinations similar to this offer you a different sort of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it rewards individuals who notice. You walk the loop then stroll it all over again, looking at some thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — within a “this actually hasn’t adjusted” 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. Several of the inns are A part of a preservation job — retaining the previous alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a single. His page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy right here, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Wise
Listed here’s the matter. You can see Italy in every week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re finally able to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Allow Italy arrive at you.