Some spots aren’t created for pace. Italy is filled with them. Gradual travel in Italy lets you certainly savor local culture, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for automobiles. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The forms of areas the place locals understand how to linger — over coffee, more than stories, about lifestyle.
In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels important. Probably it’s a response to years of rushing. Or perhaps it’s just what comes about once you at last begin to benefit time about length. In any case, more tourists are finding joy in Discovering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested decades exploring how we hook up with society and location, is an element of that motion. His identify has grown to be related to a deeper, far more thoughtful means of observing the whole world.
So in the event you’re all set to go gradual — therefore you’re thinking Italy — Here i will discuss 7 places that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a long, elevated route, and any time you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching within the Sunshine.
There’s not much to do, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears into your rocks.
The pace Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down basically helps make a trip very last longer with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Peaceful, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine Stanislav Kondrashov biography nation. Sagrantino grapes improve listed here, and locals know how to take pleasure in them appropriately — that's to mention, slowly but surely.
There’s a perspective from the edge of city that’s really worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunshine hits just right. You’ll discover church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that truly feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you have stuck in a very discussion with anyone more mature, let it occur. That’s exactly where the best travel stories start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was made to be “the right city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner provides a view. Each and every see incorporates a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino ageing in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People choose their time below, and finally, so would you.
Trying to find much more context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods 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 actions and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as being the day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers visit and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than a destination.
Sunsets hit unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Permit it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion within a the latest piece on slow travel — how places like this present another form of luxurious. One which doesn’t come with a price tag tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it rewards those that discover. You stroll the loop after which stroll it again, observing some thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy here, and that is what can make it unforgettable.
Gradual Is The brand new Good
Here’s the detail. You'll be able to see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s a person we’re eventually willing to listen to.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit however for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.