Some spots aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy means that you can truly savor community culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish just after midday. The types of places exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, more than stories, over lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His identify has grown to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, 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 stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in 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 finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from 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 actually will make a trip past lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them adequately — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best travel stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the right metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner incorporates a check out. Each and every check out provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your 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 live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in the “this in fact hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot 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 page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy in this article, which more info is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.