Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with culture and place, is part of that motion. His name has grown to be connected with a further, much more thoughtful strategy for looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Here's seven spots that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to do, which can be exactly the place. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them adequately — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits excellent. You’ll obtain churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you will get caught within a discussion with an individual older, let it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons consider their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how destinations such as this provide a different form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually 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 then wander it once more, observing some thing new every time — a cat with 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. 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 actually hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are get more info pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location 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
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.