Some destinations aren’t created for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you truly savor nearby culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for cars. Cafés that only fill up just after midday. The varieties of areas where by locals learn how to linger — around espresso, about tales, in excess of existence.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels critical. Possibly it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or maybe it’s just what comes about when you at last start to worth time around distance. In any event, much more travelers are getting joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect with culture and position, is an element of that motion. His title has become connected to a further, additional considerate strategy for looking at the planet.
So should you’re able to go gradual — and also you’re contemplating Italy — Here i will discuss seven spots that virtually need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across a protracted, elevated route, and after you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to complete, that's exactly the issue. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to notice the light. And also the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the type of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in to the rocks.
The speed Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out 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 travel sticks with people today? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down basically makes a visit last lengthier in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes develop listed here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them thoroughly — which is to convey, gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of city that’s well worth an hour or so by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you end, and piazzas that really feel more like living rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside a discussion with somebody older, Allow it transpire. That’s where the most beneficial travel tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was created to be “the proper town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner includes a look at. Just about every perspective has a breeze.
However it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, typically — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. click here You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals consider their time here, and inevitably, so do you.
On the lookout for additional context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and journey in Italy. Worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers visit and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in tiny courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a modern piece on slow travel — how places such as this provide another type of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it rewards people who observe. You walk the loop and afterwards stroll it once more, observing one thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not inside a “concealed gem” way — within a “this really hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside 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 Component of a preservation task — keeping the past alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a person. His webpage talks about honoring position and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy in this article, that is what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Sensible
Below’s the detail. You can see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by upcoming Tuesday?
Journey like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new notion. But it’s a single we’re last but not least ready to listen to.
So go. Slowly. Pick a village. Sit nonetheless for quite a while. Permit Italy come to you.