Some sites aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The varieties of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting joy 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 title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of vacation sticks with people today? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually makes a visit very last extended as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them effectively — that is to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the sting 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 come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner website incorporates a check out. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like 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 right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation in a very new piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself 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 within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.