Some sites aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for autos. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The styles of places exactly where locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect to lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So if you’re ready to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female 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 stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
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 right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out 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 men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — that's to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. 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 far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a watch. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time listed here, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional 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 prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive 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 feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this give a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost 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 attention, but it really rewards people that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, get more info an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Listed here’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nevertheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Select a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.