Some destinations aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, extra considerate means of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. Just one cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to accomplish, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a conversation with a person older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who detect. You walk the loop and then stroll it all over again, looking at one thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very 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 really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, here cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot 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 webpage talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Sensible
In this article’s the matter. You are able to see Italy in each week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.