Some sites aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least start to price time just as much as length. In either case, far more tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now connected with a deeper, more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll across a lengthy, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Substantially to complete, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact tends to make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing 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 traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots read more like this offer another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing 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 shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. 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 previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.