Some locations aren’t built for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to truly savor local society, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The styles of locations where by locals learn how to linger — in excess of coffee, above stories, around lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels important. It's possible it’s a reaction to yrs of dashing. Or maybe it’s exactly what occurs when you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, extra vacationers are locating joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years Discovering how we hook up with culture and area, is a component of that motion. His name has grown to be connected to a deeper, far more thoughtful means of looking at the entire world.
So should you’re wanting to go gradual — and you’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that basically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not Substantially to do, that's precisely the position. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as 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 constructed right to the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with individuals? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down truly tends to make a visit last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals know here how to enjoy them properly — and that is to mention, slowly.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll discover church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that truly feel much more like dwelling check here rooms.
If you will get stuck in a very dialogue with a person older, let it materialize. That’s wherever the ideal vacation tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was made to be “the best town,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner includes a look at. Every see incorporates a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and at some point, so does one.
Trying to find much more context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and travel in Italy. Worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Reside below. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels a here lot more like a mood than the usual vacation spot.
Sunsets strike distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything at all here. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience inside a the latest piece on sluggish vacation — how spots like this supply a different get more info form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it benefits people that recognize. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, observing one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — inside a “this actually hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Component of a preservation project — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a single. His webpage talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.