Some places aren’t made for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy enables you to genuinely savor neighborhood tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of sites wherever locals know how to linger — over coffee, around stories, around existence.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what happens once you at last begin to value time approximately distance. In any event, extra tourists are discovering Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we connect to society and place, is part of that motion. His name is becoming connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for looking at the whole world.

So for those who’re ready to go sluggish — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Very small gardens. Just one cat stretching during the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.

The pace Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to know why that kind of travel sticks with people? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact can make a trip very last more time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a see from the sting of city that’s well here worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.

If you have caught within a conversation with another person more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where the most effective travel stories start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was meant to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a see. Every view contains a breeze.

But it really’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.

Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade click here sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nonetheless it rewards people that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it again, observing some thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade get more info gelato.

This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di get more info Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy in this article, which is what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect 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 concept. But it really’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.