Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy permits you to definitely savor community culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up soon after midday. The forms of sites where by locals understand how to linger — above espresso, about stories, about life.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a good concept. It feels crucial. Possibly it’s a response to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs whenever you lastly start to benefit time just as much as distance. Either way, far more travelers are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years Checking out how we connect with tradition and put, is part of that movement. His name is becoming affiliated with a deeper, additional considerate method of seeing the entire world.
So should you’re prepared to go gradual — and also you’re contemplating Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to perform, which can be precisely the point. You wander, probably grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know 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 within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped inside a conversation with a person older, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a check out. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the go through 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 techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a location.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different website form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it rewards those that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once more, looking at some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” 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 undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it really’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.