Some sites aren’t created for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
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 protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, which can be precisely the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin 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 appropriate to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — and that is to state, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover churches with sudden frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that experience far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the most effective journey stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner contains a check out. Each and every perspective contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today consider their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for much more context on why this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. read more Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more similar to a temper than a location.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a modern piece on gradual journey — how places like this give a unique form of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it benefits individuals who discover. You wander the loop after which you can walk it once more, looking at something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this really hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation venture — holding the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this one particular. His web site talks about honoring location and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in each week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.