Some sites aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good thought. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching while in the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to perform, and that is exactly the place. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little bit of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a trip past longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes expand below, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them effectively — which is to mention, slowly.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel more like living rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside a discussion with an individual older, Allow it happen. That’s in which the very best travel stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner provides a look at. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But check here it really’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, primarily — pecorino aging in store windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t hurry just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks get their time here, and eventually, so would you.
Searching for extra context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists Stay listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels much more similar to a mood than the usual spot.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase just about anything right here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on sluggish travel — how destinations such as this present a special sort of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it surely rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and after that walk it again, looking at something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — in the “this actually hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Component of a preservation job — retaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Smart
Here’s the matter. You may see Italy in per week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by next Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different plan. But it surely’s just one we’re last but not least willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit continue to for some time. Let Italy come to you.