Some sites aren’t manufactured for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your individual rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about coffee, about tales, above life.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with society and location, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a get more info check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you have caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal 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.

Nevertheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing old in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.

On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through 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 unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another type of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the point. 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 upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. But it really’s a person we’re at last wanting to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy arrive at you.