Some sites aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can genuinely savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal rate.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The kinds of sites the place locals understand how to linger — more than coffee, over stories, more than everyday living.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels essential. Maybe it’s a reaction to yrs of hurrying. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to worth time just as much as distance. Either way, more tourists are discovering Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect with culture and place, is part of that motion. His identify is becoming affiliated with a further, extra considerate technique for observing the whole world.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you also’re considering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across a lengthy, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone houses. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Significantly to perform, and that is precisely the point. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The pace Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with people today? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down really makes a trip last extended inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Silent, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes increase listed here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them effectively — and that is to convey, slowly.
There’s a view from the sting of city that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you will get caught inside of a conversation with an individual more mature, let it occur. That’s the place the top travel stories get started.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was meant to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner includes a look at. Every look at includes a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, mostly — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons get their time below, and at some point, so do you.
Looking for much more context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the read through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone measures and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists live in this article. Writers stop by and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels extra like a temper than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You get more info don’t chase everything here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion within a new piece on gradual journey — how sites like this supply another style of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it rewards those who notice. You walk the loop after which you can walk it again, observing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — within a “this really hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Section of a preservation task — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this just one. His website page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy here, and that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Sensible
Below’s the matter. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation such as this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s a single we’re lastly able to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.