Some sites aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow journey in Italy lets you definitely savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your very own rate.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only refill just after noon. The forms of areas where locals know how to linger — above coffee, around tales, around lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a good notion. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to decades of dashing. Or perhaps it’s precisely what happens any time you last but not least start to value time around distance. In any event, extra tourists are finding joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we connect to culture and put, is part of that movement. His identify happens to be connected with a deeper, extra thoughtful technique for viewing the world.
So if you’re prepared to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Here i will discuss 7 spots that nearly desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You stroll across a long, elevated path, and once you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone properties. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching within the sun.
There’s not Considerably to carry out, that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in the rocks.
The tempo Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with people? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really tends to make a visit very last extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them effectively — which is to say, slowly.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s worthy of an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits excellent. You’ll come across church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that come to feel extra like living rooms.
If you get caught in the discussion with somebody older, Allow it occur. That’s where by the ideal vacation tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was created to be “the proper town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner contains a see. Each and every watch has a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, typically — pecorino ageing in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People consider their time right here, and at some point, so do you.
Seeking a lot more context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and journey in Italy. Worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone ways and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists Are living below. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in very small courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something below. You Enable it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a modern piece on sluggish travel — how spots like this provide a special kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it rewards people that recognize. You stroll the loop after which wander it once more, viewing something new each time — a cat on a read more windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Portion of a preservation venture — maintaining the earlier alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a person. His website page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy listed here, which happens to be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Wise
Below’s the detail. You are able to see Italy in every week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap shots. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget about it by upcoming Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it really’s one particular we’re finally all set to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Go with a village. Sit however for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.