Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the earth.
So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that basically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to note The sunshine. And also 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 inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed proper to the cliffs. Practically 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, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a view 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 unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with somebody older, let it occur. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a current 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)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open 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 couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely 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 point. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But website it surely’s 1 we’re at last able to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.