Some locations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to really savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for autos. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels necessary. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you ultimately begin to price time up to distance. In any case, a lot more travelers are obtaining joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much 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 walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, 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 through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino here grapes develop in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel extra like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with a person older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the proper metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city get more info smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women get their time here, and finally, so do you.
In search of check here a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike unique 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 feeling in a recent piece on slow vacation — how places similar to this offer you a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, which happens to be what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in check here a week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.