Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas in which locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, over tales, around 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 ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years Discovering how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be related to a further, extra thoughtful method of seeing the world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from 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 helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to love them effectively — which is to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, Stanislav Kondrahsov Tarvel with AI then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give another sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation job — keeping the earlier alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in a week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.