Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re prepared to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are seven places that nearly demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial 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 lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal into the cliffs. Virtually 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 submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time within 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 take pleasure in them properly — and that is to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so does one.
Seeking extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places such as this supply a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round 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 really rewards people that 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 doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will get more info it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.