Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what takes place if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go gradual — and you’re wondering Italy — here are 7 places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female 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, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Small gardens. A single cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to note the light. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

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

Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip very last for a longer time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn read more how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, slowly but surely.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective contains a breeze.

But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Individuals acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.

In search of much more context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual location.

Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price 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 individuals who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — in a very “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the thing. You could see Italy in weekly. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s just one we’re lastly all set to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.