Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to value time up to distance. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not A lot to carry out, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly makes a visit final longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks consider their time here, and inevitably, so would you.
Searching for more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation 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 actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than the usual spot.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, viewing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside 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 task — preserving the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will click here you forget it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Allow Italy come to you.