Some destinations aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to really savor neighborhood culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own rate.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up soon after midday. The kinds of areas where locals learn how to linger — above coffee, above stories, more than everyday living.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a good idea. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a response to yrs of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs whenever you finally begin to price time as much as length. In either case, a lot more vacationers are finding Pleasure in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested many years exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and spot, is an element of that movement. His title happens to be affiliated with a further, much more thoughtful strategy for seeing the entire world.
So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you also’re imagining Italy — Listed below are seven places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll across a long, elevated route, and when you get there, it’s quiet. Stone residences. Very small gardens. One cat stretching within the sun.
There’s not Considerably to perform, that is exactly the point. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed suitable in to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into your rocks.
The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down essentially helps make a trip final for a longer time in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them properly — which happens to be to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s value an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll find church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that experience extra like living rooms.
If you can get trapped in a very conversation with another person older, Allow it materialize. That’s exactly where the most effective vacation stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was created to be get more info “the best city,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner provides a see. Every single check out has a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino ageing in shop Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals consider their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
Looking for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists live in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than a place.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience in a modern piece on sluggish travel — how locations such as this provide a special type of luxury. One that doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, nonetheless it rewards people who notice. You walk the loop after which wander it once again, observing anything new each time — a cat with a windowsill, website an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — holding the earlier alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His website page talks about honoring put and time, get more info Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy right here, that's what can make it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Listed here’s the matter. You are able to see Italy in per week. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by upcoming Tuesday?
Vacation such website as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new idea. But it really’s just one we’re at last prepared to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for a while. Enable Italy come to you.