Some spots aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual vacation in Italy allows you to truly savor neighborhood society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your individual pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill immediately after noon. The varieties of sites exactly where locals learn how to linger — about espresso, around tales, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a nice notion. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to decades of speeding. Or possibly it’s precisely what transpires once you ultimately start to value time just as much as distance. In either case, far more vacationers are discovering joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in decades exploring how we hook up with society and position, is an element of that movement. His name is becoming associated with a further, much more thoughtful strategy for viewing the whole world.
So if you’re ready to go slow — therefore you’re considering Italy — Here's 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Tiny gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to complete, which can be precisely the point. You wander, probably get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You start to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed ideal in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into your rocks.
The speed Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within 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 find out why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly helps make a visit final lengthier with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, underneath-the-radar, website heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes increase listed here, and locals learn how to appreciate them appropriately — that's to state, gradually.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll uncover churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that experience far more like living rooms.
If you obtain caught in the discussion with someone older, let it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives below. Pienza was intended to be “the perfect city,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner includes a see. Just about every check out has a breeze.
But it surely’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People get their time listed here, and inevitably, so do you.
Looking for more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual location.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling within a latest piece on gradual travel — how sites like this supply a different kind of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price read more tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds click here in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it benefits those that detect. You stroll the loop and then wander it once again, observing one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this really hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — preserving the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy listed here, that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in weekly. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this check here — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different idea. Nevertheless it’s just one we’re last but not least ready to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit however for some time. Allow Italy come to you.