Some places aren’t designed for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, about tales, over daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what transpires after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful strategy for observing the globe.

So should you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, reached only by a narrow footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a protracted, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. Just one cat stretching while in the sun.

There’s not Considerably to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last extended with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel a lot more like residing rooms.

If you have caught in a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a see. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in store Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Persons just take their time listed here, and at some point, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food items and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone actions and surprising murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay listed here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase just about anything here. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion in a very recent piece on slow journey — how areas like this give another type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

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

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits individuals who observe. You walk the loop after which walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation undertaking — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. 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 brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re ultimately ready to hear.

So go. click here Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.