Some destinations aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or possibly it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we hook up with society and position, is an element of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab 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 your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into 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 rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll obtain churches with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel far more like living rooms.
If you obtain caught inside of a conversation with a person older, let it happen. That’s the place the top journey tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, generally — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual desired website destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. 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 altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.