Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow journey in Italy allows you to really savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about espresso, in excess of tales, more than lifetime.

In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a nice concept. It feels important. Perhaps it’s a reaction to decades of speeding. Or even it’s just what comes about whenever you finally start to worth time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and place, is an element of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.

So should you’re able to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady 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 walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

The speed Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, Enable it happen. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was meant to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner incorporates a check out. Just about every perspective has a breeze.

However it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, generally — 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 take their time listed here, and ultimately, so does one.

Trying to find much more context on why this fashion of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the examine before you go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill town with stone methods and unexpected murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists Are living right here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels far more similar to a temper than a place.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow check here and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation within a modern piece on sluggish journey — how spots such as this offer you a unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t include a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it really rewards those who see. You stroll the loop and after that wander it once more, looking at anything new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — preserving the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His webpage talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by future Tuesday?

Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. But it surely’s a single we’re finally wanting to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy come to you.