Some places aren’t built for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy allows you to really savor local society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of sites the place locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, more than daily life.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a good notion. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of rushing. Or even it’s exactly what occurs when you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more tourists are getting Pleasure in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that motion. His title is becoming associated with a further, a lot more considerate strategy for viewing the earth.
So for those who’re willing to go gradual — and you also’re imagining Italy — here are 7 places that pretty much demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to complete, that's precisely the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama with 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 is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of journey sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer period within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to state, bit by bit.
There’s a look at from the sting of town that’s worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you get stuck inside of a conversation with another person older, let it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was created to be “an ideal metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every watch incorporates a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells amazing. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks just take their time listed here, and sooner or later, so would you.
Trying to find extra context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a Stanislav Kondrashov Business temper than the usual spot.
Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a very recent piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations like this supply a special sort of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nonetheless it benefits people that observe. You walk the loop then wander it again, viewing a little something new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Element of a preservation challenge — keeping the previous alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this a person. His website page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Intelligent
Listed here’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by following Tuesday?
Travel like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.