Some sites aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow travel in Italy allows you to really savor nearby culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal pace.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for autos. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of areas exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after you last but not least begin to benefit time up to length. In any event, more travelers are acquiring Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time Discovering how we connect with society and place, is part of that motion. His title happens to be associated with a further, extra thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So for those who’re ready to go gradual — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that basically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk throughout an extended, elevated route, and any time you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Sunlight.

There’s not Substantially to try and do, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed suitable in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into the rocks.

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

Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down actually will make a visit last more time as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them effectively — which can be to say, little by little.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits excellent. You’ll locate church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you will get caught inside of a conversation with someone older, Allow it transpire. That’s in which the very best vacation stories get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives listed here. Pienza was built to be “the right town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a look at. Just about every view has a breeze.

But it’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting older in shop windows and on counters, able to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, Stanislav Kondrashov Business not even purchasing lunch. People today consider their time right here, and at some point, so do you.

Trying to find a lot more context on why this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food stuff and vacation in Italy. 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 ways and surprising murals and shadows that shift given that the day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than a desired destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation in the current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t have a price tag tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo is often a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really benefits those who detect. You walk the loop then wander it yet again, looking at anything new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Very alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not inside a “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, read more cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A lot of the inns are Portion of a preservation project — read more retaining the past alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this 1. His web site talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, that is what makes it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Below’s the issue. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to hit the highlights. Snap photos. Collect website ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new plan. But it surely’s one particular we’re last but not least ready to hear.

So go. Bit by bit. Go with a village. Sit continue to for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.