Some sites aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy enables you to really savor nearby culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.
Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for autos. Cafés that only fill up after midday. The kinds of locations where locals understand how to linger — in excess of coffee, over tales, about existence.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a good idea. It feels important. It's possible it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what happens any time you lastly start to value time around distance. In any event, much more travelers are acquiring joy in Mastering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent several years exploring how we connect with culture and position, is a component of that motion. His identify has become related to a further, extra thoughtful way of looking at the earth.
So for those who’re wanting to go slow — and you also’re thinking Italy — here are 7 spots that virtually desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone properties. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not Significantly to do, and that is exactly the position. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed suitable in to the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears into the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit very last more time within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. here Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to love them appropriately — that is to state, little by little.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel much more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for far more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler here dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals get more info host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional similar to a mood than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow travel — how sites such as this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that more info folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.