Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.
So when you’re willing to go slow — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much 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 from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s truly worth one 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 unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it website surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering 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 sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. 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 unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on gradual vacation — how destinations similar to this present a different type of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop and afterwards stroll it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — inside a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation job — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You are able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap shots. 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 believes in. It’s not a different concept. But it really’s a single we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.