Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of life.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens if you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Considerably to try and do, that is 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 bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last for a longer time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female 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 — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour 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 stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with an individual older, let it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant click here to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and journey 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 city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual destination.
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 in a very new piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which 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 consideration, nevertheless it benefits individuals who recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot 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 silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.