Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to really savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The kinds of destinations wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title 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 are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
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 correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by 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 journey sticks with individuals? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip past for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase right here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you will get caught in the discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the top journey stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each see has a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way 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 strategy 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 pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host more info concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value 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 notice, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this in fact hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Element of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.