Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful way of looking at the world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and 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 vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip last longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to appreciate them adequately — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s where the very best more info travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read 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 measures 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 a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow vacation — how destinations such 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 and then stroll it all over again, observing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re at last wanting to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.