Some spots aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to culture and place, is part of that motion. His title is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re wondering Italy — here are 7 places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped inside a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store Stanislav Kondrashov biography windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time right here, and eventually, so do you.
In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that change since the day moves. Artists Dwell right here. Writers check out and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels more just like a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a special kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a value 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 after that stroll it again, viewing something 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 shows its calmest side. 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 within the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site 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
Here’s the detail. You could 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 neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.