Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s exactly what transpires if you finally begin to benefit time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that basically demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your to start with effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated path, and after you get there, it’s quiet. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and 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 journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals understand how to delight in them adequately — which can be to state, little by little.

There’s a see 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 excellent. You’ll uncover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you get stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the most beneficial travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance click here idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Just about every look at features a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so do you.

Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish meals and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.

Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow vacation — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.

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

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.

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

Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Right here’s the factor. You are able to see Italy in each week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re at last able to listen to.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.