Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy helps you to certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, over stories, around existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that practically desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to perform, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into your rocks.
The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the 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 learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which is to state, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s well worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll find churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you can get trapped in a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s the place the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Every view has a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.
Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost 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 attention, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact 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. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the thing. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. But it really’s 1 we’re eventually wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Select a village. Sit website still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.