Some spots aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you definitely savor regional tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice idea. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you simply’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate 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 discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well 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 churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with someone older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.
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. Each corner has a perspective. Each individual look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking more context on why using this method 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 day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels read more a lot more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit distinct 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 sensation inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. 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 who detect. You wander the loop then wander it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay 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 idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.