Some spots aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time about length. In any case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name has become related to a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which can be to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge 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 come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mainly — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put 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
Here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able get more info to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.