Some areas aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are acquiring joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So in case you’re able to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout a lengthy, elevated route, and after you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching in the Solar.
There’s not much to do, that is precisely the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is gradual, 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 know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.
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 quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in 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 created to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You check here won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it again, observing 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 reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “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 site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.