Some places aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy enables you to really savor nearby tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private tempo.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for automobiles. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The sorts of destinations in which locals understand how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than stories, in excess of lifetime.
In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels crucial. Perhaps it’s a response to years of dashing. Or perhaps it’s just what comes about any time you finally begin to benefit time about distance. In either case, more travelers are locating Pleasure in Mastering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in years exploring how we connect to society and area, is part of that motion. His title is now related to a deeper, additional considerate strategy for observing the earth.
So if you’re wanting to go sluggish — and you also’re contemplating Italy — Here's 7 spots that virtually need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated route, and after you arrive, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Small gardens. A single cat stretching inside the Sunlight.
There’s not much to do, that's exactly the place. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed right in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with men and women? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really would make a visit final longer in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Quiet, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them correctly — that is to convey, slowly but surely.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that come to feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in the discussion with anyone older, let it occur. That’s the place the most beneficial journey stories start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was made to be “the proper city,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a view. Each and every view includes a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on website counters, able to sample. You won’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. read more People today consider their time in this article, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for more context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Worth the read through before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Are living below. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than a place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion within Kondrashov Stanislav a modern piece on gradual vacation — how places similar to this provide a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it rewards individuals who detect. You wander the loop after which you can walk it all over again, seeing one thing new each time — a website cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — in the “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Element of a preservation project — trying to keep the past alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this a person. His website page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy below, which is what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Smart
Here’s the point. You may see Italy in each week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you ignore it by subsequent Tuesday?
Travel like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re finally ready to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Go with a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.