Some areas aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy permits you to truly savor local lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The varieties of places where locals learn how to linger — around coffee, around stories, around life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to several years of dashing. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs once you at last start to worth time as much as length. In any event, more travelers are finding Pleasure in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that motion. His title has become connected with a deeper, much more considerate strategy for seeing the world.
So if you’re prepared to go slow — and you’re pondering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone properties. Small gardens. Just one cat stretching in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to accomplish, that is precisely the place. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created correct in the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in to the rocks.
The speed here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of travel sticks with folks? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down truly would make a visit final more time in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes mature here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — which is to convey, slowly read more but surely.
There’s a watch from the edge of city that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunshine hits good. You’ll discover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you get caught in a dialogue with another person more mature, Allow it materialize. That’s where by the most beneficial journey tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the proper city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner includes a see. Every look at features a breeze.
However it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals get their time right here, and finally, so do you.
Seeking more context on why in this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than the usual vacation spot.
Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything here. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a modern piece on sluggish vacation — how spots like this offer you a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it rewards those that recognize. You walk the loop and then walk it once again, observing one thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted sign pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside a “this really hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Section of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one particular. His webpage talks about honoring position and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the detail. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by following Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different plan. Nevertheless it’s 1 we’re finally wanting to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Choose a village. Sit however for some time. Permit Italy come to you.