Some areas aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy means that you can certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin 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 expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and spot, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful means of viewing the entire world.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
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 slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. 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 silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's slow, 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 actually can make a visit last more time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them appropriately — which can be to state, gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of city that’s well worth an hour or so 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 quit, and piazzas that come to feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way 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 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 far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on slow vacation — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. check here Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is a city that folds in on alone, 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 a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His web page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s very little flashy in this article, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket 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 strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.