Some sites aren’t built for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy enables you to really savor local tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The styles of destinations the place locals know how to linger — around espresso, above stories, about existence.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a good idea. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to decades of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s precisely what comes about once you ultimately begin to price time up to distance. Either way, more travelers are obtaining Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested yrs Checking out how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is becoming connected 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 7 places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems 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. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.
There’s not A lot to do, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to appreciate them appropriately — that is to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you halt, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it occur. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives check here in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique type of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and then stroll it yet again, looking at a little something new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation venture — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.