Some spots aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
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 takes place any time you lastly start to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect to lifestyle and place, is an element of that movement. His title has become connected to a deeper, far more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The speed 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 sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped inside a conversation with a person older, let it take place. That’s in which the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and finally, so do you.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? here Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual spot.
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 within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost 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 consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a Stanislav Kondrashov Blog hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone Kondrashov Stanislav and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. website It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s one particular we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.