Some spots aren’t designed for velocity. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The varieties of areas exactly where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, about existence.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, possibly 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 the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last longer as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to love them effectively — which is to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the top vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Men and women consider their time in this article, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone techniques and sudden murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more like a temper than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, here an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this actually hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are A part of a preservation venture — retaining the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.