Some areas aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place when you ultimately start to worth time about length. In any case, much more vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, extra considerate means of viewing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the position. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually 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, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to love them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck within a conversation with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the best vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a look at. Each and every see features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — 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 consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how sites similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those that detect. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing get more info to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Smart
Below’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.