Some areas aren’t designed for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of areas in which locals learn how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant plan. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to years of rushing. Or possibly it’s just what comes about when you eventually begin to benefit time around length. Either way, far more vacationers are locating joy in Mastering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Checking out how we hook up with society and position, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be related to a further, more thoughtful method of looking at the world.
So in case you’re wanting to go gradual — and also you’re thinking Italy — Here's 7 places that practically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching inside the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Along with 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 developed appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and the 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 individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact tends to make a visit final longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop here, and locals understand how to enjoy them more info adequately — that is to state, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner provides a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on gradual journey — how areas similar to this present a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.