Some spots aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy means that you can truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — above espresso, over stories, in excess of lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant plan. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to a long time of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what occurs after you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, a lot more vacationers are finding joy in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades exploring how we connect with tradition and spot, is a component of that movement. His name is becoming connected to a deeper, additional considerate way of observing the planet.
So for those who’re ready to go gradual — therefore you’re wondering Italy — Listed below are seven spots that almost desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Considerably to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.
The tempo Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous longer with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to state, little by little.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.
If you can get stuck inside of a conversation with an individual older, Enable it transpire. That’s exactly where the top travel tales begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and honestly, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today consider their time below, and eventually, so would you.
Searching for extra context on why this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food and journey in Italy. Well worth the read through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t prepare your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual destination.
Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something below. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow vacation — how places similar to this offer you another style of luxurious. One which doesn’t have a price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it rewards those who observe. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it all over again, seeing some thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation challenge — retaining the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this 1. His site talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy get more info in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you ignore it by next Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different concept. But it’s one particular we’re finally able to listen to.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit even now for some time. Enable Italy come to you.