Some destinations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy enables you to actually savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The varieties of areas in which locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to years of dashing. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally begin to worth time about length. Either way, much more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to culture and place, is part of that motion. His title is becoming affiliated with a further, more considerate strategy for observing the globe.
So when you’re wanting to go gradual — and you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. Just one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which happens to be exactly the point. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly tends to make a visit previous lengthier inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a dialogue with an individual more mature, let it take place. That’s the place the best journey stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner incorporates a check out. Each individual check out includes a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You gained’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time right here, and inevitably, so would you.
Looking for get more info more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and travel in Italy. Well worth the study prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as the working day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers take a look at and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual location.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything at all in this article. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a modern piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this give a unique style of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it really rewards those who see. You walk the loop and then stroll check here it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a website “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation venture — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this 1. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire website ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. But it surely’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.