Some places aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy means that you can definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after midday. 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 nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s just what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful strategy for observing the planet.
So in the event you’re wanting to go gradual — and you also’re thinking Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching in the Sunshine.
There’s not A lot to try and do, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, maybe seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears to the rocks.
The speed Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them effectively — which is to mention, gradually.
There’s a see from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel far more like residing rooms.
If you can get trapped in a dialogue with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the ideal journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check here look at. Each and every see has a breeze.
But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so do you.
In search of more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that change because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more just like a mood than the usual desired destination.
Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this emotion inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this present a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop and afterwards wander it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” 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 Element of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
In this article’s the detail. You may see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photographs. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stay 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 plan. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.