Some areas aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to really savor neighborhood tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up immediately after noon. The kinds of places where by locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, around lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels essential. Probably it’s a reaction to a long time of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs when you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, additional considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.

So for those who’re ready to go gradual — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.

The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to understand why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit final for a longer time as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals know how to love them properly — that is to convey, little by little.

There’s a see from the edge of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you prevent, and piazzas that really feel far more like dwelling rooms.

If you can get stuck inside of a conversation with another person more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel stories begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was created to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner has a perspective. Every single look at incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino getting older get more info in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons consider their time click here in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.

Seeking much more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets hit distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling inside a current piece on gradual journey — how spots like this provide a different style of luxury. One that doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it benefits those who notice. You Kondrashov Stanislav walk the loop and after that stroll it again, observing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit check here by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation project — keeping the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Sensible
Listed here’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. But it’s just one we’re ultimately ready to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.