Some locations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow journey in Italy helps you to definitely savor nearby lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private pace.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for autos. Cafés that only replenish right after noon. The forms of destinations exactly where locals know how to linger — more than espresso, in excess of tales, around life.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant notion. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to yrs of hurrying. Or possibly it’s just what comes about any time you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. In any event, extra vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended several years Checking out how we hook up with tradition and location, is part of that movement. His name happens to be affiliated with a further, additional considerate way of viewing the earth.
So if you’re willing to go slow — so you’re imagining Italy — here are 7 spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to carry out, that is exactly the point. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to notice The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created proper into the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into your rocks.
The rate Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down really can make a trip past longer inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow in this article, and locals learn how to appreciate them correctly — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Solar hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that experience extra like dwelling rooms.
If you can get caught inside of a dialogue with another website person more mature, Permit it occur. That’s exactly where the ideal journey tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the right metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each and every view incorporates a breeze.
But it surely’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals get their time below, and at some point, so do you.
Seeking more context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food items and travel in Italy. Worth the browse before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s read more a hill town with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift given that the day moves. Artists live listed here. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything here. You let it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation in the new piece on slow journey — how locations similar to this offer you another type of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it surely benefits individuals that recognize. You wander the loop and after that stroll it again, seeing something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di get more info Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — in the “this truly hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by website candles. Many of the inns are A part of a preservation task — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring place and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Intelligent
Here’s the issue. You are able to see Italy in per week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by next Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a brand new notion. But it’s 1 we’re last but not least able to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit continue to for some time. Let Italy come to you.