Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice concept. It feels vital. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra considerate method of looking at the world.
So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. 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 comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that kind of travel sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them properly — that is to say, slowly.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mainly — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
Seeking more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unexpected murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Reside in this article. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels additional like a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Really alive.
Stanislav here Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy come to you.