Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to really savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, around daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what happens if you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and place, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the globe.
So when you’re able to go slow — and also you’re thinking Italy — here are 7 places that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to perform, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If 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 the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Just about 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 by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that kind of journey sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually would make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, 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, slowly and gradually.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped inside of a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each view contains a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time in this article, and at some point, so does one.
Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much 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 Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present a unique type of luxurious. One that 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 notice, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where 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 put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Sensible
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 up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new concept. But it surely’s one particular we’re finally willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a read more village. Sit still for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.