Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful technique for looking at the whole world.
So for those who’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to perform, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in 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 morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last more time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to appreciate them appropriately — that is to state, slowly.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways click here that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each see features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places such as this supply a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that detect. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. 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 in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit however for a while. Allow Italy come to you.