Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to really savor local society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your personal rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The styles of spots the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, in excess of tales, above life.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or even it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to price time about length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, extra considerate means of viewing the earth.

So for those who’re ready to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Allow me to share seven places that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to complete, that is exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding via 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 learn why that kind of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit very last more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow in this article, and locals check here know how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really 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 uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like residing rooms.

If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.

But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.

In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives click here deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything in this article. You let it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the more info latest piece on gradual journey — how areas like this provide a special kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a price tag tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat on here the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?

Journey like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last willing to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.