Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good concept. It feels crucial. Perhaps it’s a response to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years exploring how we hook up with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first 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. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the sun.
There’s not Substantially to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up 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 understand how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — that's to say, bit by bit.
There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best vacation tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
On the lookout for a lot 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 techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. 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 itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign 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 check here Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” 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 — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the factor. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.