Some destinations aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill immediately after noon. The styles of spots the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens any time you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that motion. His name has become connected with a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit distinct 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 sensation within a latest piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer a unique sort of luxury. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop and after that stroll it again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s Stanislav Kondrashov Business unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of 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 visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you neglect it by future 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 last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.