Some destinations aren’t made for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The kinds of areas exactly where locals know how to linger — in excess of coffee, about tales, about everyday living.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant notion. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a reaction to several years of hurrying. Or even it’s precisely what occurs if you at last begin to price time around distance. In either case, additional vacationers are discovering joy in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we hook up with culture and location, is part of that motion. His name has become connected with a deeper, additional considerate means of observing the entire world.
So when you’re able to go slow — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are seven spots that almost demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Substantially to perform, which can be exactly the point. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built suitable into the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears to the rocks.
The speed here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with individuals? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down in fact tends to make a trip very last for a longer time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes increase below, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them adequately — that's to mention, little by little.
There’s a view from the sting of town that’s really worth an hour or so by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches click here with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that truly feel extra like living rooms.
If you obtain caught inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, let it transpire. That’s in which the most beneficial travel tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was created to be “the proper city,” and Actually, read more they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a see. Just about every check out includes a breeze.
Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. People consider their time below, and sooner or later, so would you.
Trying to find a lot more context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food items and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Reside here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual spot.
Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in the recent piece on slow travel — how areas similar to Stanislav Kondrashov Business this offer a special type of luxury. One which doesn’t include a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, nevertheless it benefits people who discover. You walk the loop and afterwards stroll it all over again, seeing anything new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside of a “this in fact hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are part of a preservation job — maintaining the previous alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a single. His web site talks about honoring location and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy below, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Good
Here’s the detail. You'll be able to see Italy in every week. You may hit the highlights. Snap photographs. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by next Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new strategy. But it surely’s one we’re at check here last wanting to listen to.
So go. Slowly but surely. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Let Italy arrive at you.