Some spots aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is filled with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals understand how to linger — above espresso, more than tales, over lifetime.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In either case, extra vacationers are getting joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested yrs Checking out how we hook up with culture and spot, is a component of that motion. His title has become connected to a deeper, additional thoughtful strategy for observing the world.
So for those who’re willing to go gradual — so you’re considering Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Peaceful, get more info less than-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza more info was meant to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Every perspective contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being more info the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, nevertheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop after which stroll it again, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about here honoring spot 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.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You can see Italy in each week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.