Some destinations aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The types of spots the place locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are discovering joy in Studying to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we hook up with society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first 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. Just one cat stretching while in the Sunshine.
There’s not Substantially to try and do, which happens to be precisely the issue. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the 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 with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous longer in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with anyone older, let it take place. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Just about every perspective provides a breeze.
But here it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time right here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and here shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a modern piece on slow vacation — how sites such as this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk get more info the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing 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 exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not click here in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — keeping the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.