Some places aren’t created for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of sites where locals know how to linger — above coffee, about stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In any event, far more tourists are getting Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, much more thoughtful technique for looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly tends to make a visit past lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes increase below, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them adequately — that is to convey, little by little.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that sense more like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in the conversation with another person older, Allow it materialize. That’s where by the best travel stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal town,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Each perspective includes a breeze.
But it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mainly — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You won’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons get their time right here, and finally, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this manner of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and vacation in Italy. Worth the read prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unpredicted murals and shadows that change because the working day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels a lot more similar to a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation in a very recent piece on sluggish journey — how spots such as this offer you a special kind of luxury. One that doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards those that see. You wander the loop and then stroll it once again, observing one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation challenge — holding the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this click here a person. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Wise
Below’s the factor. You may see Italy in every week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by next Tuesday?
Vacation like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new plan. But it surely’s just one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Gradually. Opt for a village. Sit even now for a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.