Some areas aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to genuinely savor regional tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The sorts of places the place locals know how to linger — about coffee, over stories, more than life.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to several years of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to benefit time approximately distance. In either case, additional travelers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and location, is an element of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, far more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re able to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are 7 spots that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually makes a visit final lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that read more is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with sudden frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you have caught inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where the most beneficial travel stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was meant to be “the perfect town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner features a get more info view. Just about every look at features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t rush everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People today take their time listed here, and inevitably, so would you.
Looking for more read more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the examine before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in small courtyards. It feels far more like a temper than a place.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything right here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion within a latest piece on slow journey — how places like this offer you another kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t have a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is actually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, however it benefits those who discover. You stroll the loop then stroll it once more, observing a thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking check here wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — in a “this actually hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are part of a preservation project — holding the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this 1. His site talks about honoring area and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Smart
Below’s the thing. You are able to see Italy in every week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different thought. Nevertheless it’s 1 we’re lastly able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.