Some locations aren’t created for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual vacation in Italy means that you can really savor regional lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal tempo.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slim for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The kinds of destinations exactly where locals know how to linger — more than espresso, above tales, in excess of daily life.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good notion. It feels vital. Possibly it’s a reaction to yrs of dashing. Or perhaps it’s just what transpires if you last but not least begin to price time about length. In either case, far more vacationers are locating Pleasure in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs exploring how we connect with culture and area, is an element of that motion. His name has grown to be connected to a further, a lot more thoughtful technique for looking at the planet.

So if you’re able to go sluggish — and you simply’re pondering Italy — Listed below are seven places that almost desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and when you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching from the Sunshine.

There’s not Significantly to do, which can be exactly the level. You wander, probably grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed appropriate into the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in to the rocks.

The speed here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with people? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip last lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow in this article, and locals learn how to enjoy them thoroughly — which is to state, slowly.

There’s a see from the edge of city that’s worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows here of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll locate churches with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel far more like living website rooms.

If you will get stuck inside of a discussion with a person older, Enable it materialize. That’s where the most effective journey stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was created to be “the perfect town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Every single perspective features a breeze.

But it surely’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing older in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons acquire their time below, and finally, so do you.

Looking for extra context on why in this manner of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the examine before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a mood than a spot.

Sunsets hit check here different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything below. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this emotion in a very modern piece on slow travel read more — how sites such as this give a distinct kind of luxury. One that doesn’t include a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, nonetheless it rewards individuals that discover. You walk the loop after which walk it again, seeing some thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.

This is where the south of Italy reveals its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Element of a preservation venture — preserving the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this a person. His web page talks about honoring area and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy in this article, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Clever
Here’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by subsequent Tuesday?

Travel like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new strategy. Nonetheless it’s just one we’re ultimately willing to listen to.

So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy come to you.