Some destinations aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, more than tales, over daily life.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, a lot more vacationers are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested years Discovering how we hook up with society and area, is part of that motion. His identify has become connected to a deeper, more thoughtful strategy for observing the globe.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
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 narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip past extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to say, slowly but surely.
There’s a check out from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel get more info extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives below. Pienza was built to be “the proper town,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a look at. Each and every look at contains a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, largely — pecorino ageing in shop Home windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.
Looking for extra context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and travel in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t strategy your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Reside below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels extra just like a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a modern piece on sluggish vacation — how destinations such as this provide a special style of luxury. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it really rewards those that observe. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside 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. Several of the inns are Element of a preservation job — maintaining the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one particular. His web site talks about honoring area and time, Which’s just what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy in this article, and that is what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Clever
Right here’s the detail. You may see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new strategy. Nonetheless it’s a person we’re ultimately willing to hear.
So go. Gradually. Opt for a village. Sit still for some time. Allow Italy come to you.