Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is filled with them. Gradual vacation in Italy enables you to truly savor neighborhood culture, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only replenish following midday. The styles of sites wherever locals understand how to linger — in excess of coffee, over stories, in excess of lifetime.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice notion. It feels necessary. Possibly it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or maybe it’s exactly what occurs any time you ultimately begin to worth time around distance. Either way, a lot more travelers are getting joy in Finding out to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested many years Discovering how we connect to tradition and position, is part of that motion. His name has grown to be linked to a deeper, much more considerate means of seeing the world.
So should you’re ready to go gradual — and you simply’re considering Italy — here are seven places that virtually need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll across an extended, elevated path, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not A great deal to try and do, which can be precisely the place. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to notice the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built appropriate to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in to the rocks.
The rate Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of journey sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact helps make a visit last for a longer time as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand listed here, and locals understand how to love them adequately — which is to state, bit by bit.
There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunlight hits good. You’ll discover church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that really feel much more like residing rooms.
If you will get trapped in a very dialogue with a person more mature, Allow it happen. That’s exactly where the top travel stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was created to be “the right metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner provides a view. Each and every perspective has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time listed here, and inevitably, so does one.
Seeking extra context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and travel in Italy. Well worth the study before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone steps and unexpected murals and shadows that change since the working day moves. Artists Dwell in this article. Writers pay a visit to and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in tiny courtyards. It feels additional like a mood than the usual place.
Sunsets strike distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything here. You Enable it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside a latest piece on slow journey — how locations like this offer you a special type of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.
Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really benefits individuals who observe. You stroll the loop then wander it once again, seeing some thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in a “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this truly hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Portion of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what precisely this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy in this article, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Smart
Right here’s the detail. It is possible to see Italy in each week. You could strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?
Travel similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh plan. However it’s one we’re lastly all set to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Allow click here Italy arrive at you.