Some places aren’t built for speed. Italy is filled with them. Slow journey in Italy allows you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over espresso, over stories, about existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. It's possible it’s a reaction to a long time of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what occurs any time you lastly start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional vacationers are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we hook up with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the earth.
So when you’re prepared to go gradual — and you’re thinking Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s peaceful. Stone houses. Small gardens. Just one cat stretching within the Solar.
There’s not A lot to carry out, which happens to be precisely the level. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note the light. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that sort of journey sticks with people today? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down truly helps make a visit previous longer inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals understand how to delight in them correctly — which is to convey, slowly.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s well worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with somebody older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the top travel tales start.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Just about every watch incorporates a breeze.
Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.
On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep read more into slow foods 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 methods and unexpected murals and shadows that change as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience within a latest piece on slow journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically 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 attendees into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re last but not least prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.