Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, around tales, around existence.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a good idea. It feels essential. Maybe it’s a response to several years of dashing. Or maybe it’s just what takes place whenever you eventually begin to price time as much as length. Either way, a lot more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the globe.
So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly 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. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. A single cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not Considerably to do, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really will make a visit past longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to convey, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well 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 prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner incorporates a view. Every perspective contains a breeze.
However it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and travel in Italy. Well worth the read through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone 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 project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket here 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 a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.