Some sites aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. The forms of locations where locals understand how to linger — over coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels crucial. It's possible it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to price time as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, more considerate means of viewing the planet.
So if you’re wanting to go gradual — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here's seven places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching from the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, maybe get a glass of wine at 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)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted 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 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 hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down in fact can make a visit past extended with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by alone. 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 which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.
If you obtain caught in a very discussion with another person more mature, Permit it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a see. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
In search of much more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed get more info here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow journey — how areas like this give a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.
This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Very alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire 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 believes in. It’s not a new notion. But it’s one particular we’re lastly willing to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.