Some locations aren’t designed for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill following midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now related to a further, extra considerate method of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically 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 slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but 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 hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down really makes a visit final more time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them adequately — which can be 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 church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was meant to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every check out includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct kind of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, check here but it benefits those who see. You stroll the loop after which wander it once more, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open 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. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one. His web page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.