Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow travel in Italy permits you to actually savor regional culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what transpires when you ultimately begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended years exploring how we connect to culture and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of seeing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first 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 get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually 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 put up 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. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience much more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive trapped within a discussion with another person more mature, Permit it happen. That’s in which the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People take their time listed here, and sooner or later, so do you.
On the lookout for much more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various 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 experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a special style click here of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation task — 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 precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. 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 overlook 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 1 we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.