Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to society and place, is an element of that motion. His name is now linked to a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So should you’re able to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
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 residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals know how to delight in them adequately — which can be to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a discussion with anyone older, let it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells wonderful. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing older in shop Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and finally, so does one.
Looking for additional context on why in this manner of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town 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 place.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a current piece on gradual journey — how areas such as this supply a unique kind of luxury. One that doesn’t come with website a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, however it rewards individuals that detect. You wander the loop and after that walk it once again, looking at something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s just one we’re lastly all set to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.
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