Some areas aren’t created for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy enables you to actually savor local society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your individual speed.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for cars. Cafés that only fill up just after midday. The varieties of spots in which locals understand how to linger — about espresso, about stories, above everyday living.

In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant plan. It feels necessary. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of hurrying. Or possibly it’s just what occurs whenever you at last start to price time up to length. In any event, a lot more tourists are getting joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used a long time Discovering how we hook up with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.

So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — and you simply’re imagining Italy — here are seven places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems 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. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to perform, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

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

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer period in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you will get caught in the discussion with anyone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a perspective. Each individual look at incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and get more info on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.

Seeking extra context on why in this manner of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone measures and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase here just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t have a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people that recognize. You wander the loop then walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “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. Some of the inns are A part of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this one. His site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s check here absolutely nothing flashy get more info here, which can be what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Clever
In this article’s the point. It is possible to see Italy in a week. You can strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you neglect it by up coming Tuesday?

Travel like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new concept. But it surely’s a person we’re lastly prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Pick a village. Sit however for some time. Permit Italy come to you.