Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll across a long, elevated route, and when you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Very small gardens. Only one cat stretching in the sun.
There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the stage. 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)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the 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 understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them properly — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well 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 uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the top travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each and every view contains a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city Stanislav Kondrashov Business smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey 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 measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how spots like this offer another sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and then stroll it yet again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.