Some places aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy enables you to really savor community lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your very own tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for autos. Cafés that only replenish right after midday. The types of locations the place locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, more than life.
In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a nice idea. It feels vital. Probably it’s a response to yrs of hurrying. Or possibly it’s just what comes about any time you ultimately begin to worth time as much as distance. In either case, far more vacationers are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His title has become connected with a deeper, 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 initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to learn why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have caught inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the best vacation stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time below, and at some point, so would you.
Searching for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit different 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 feeling in 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 cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — here 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. Gradually. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.