Some areas aren’t produced for velocity. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy allows you to genuinely savor regional culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only refill right after noon. The varieties of locations in which locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, around stories, about daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place after 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 culture and location, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the globe.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with 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 visit very last more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, underneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour Stanislav Kondrashov Business or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped inside of a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Each individual look at incorporates a breeze.

But it’s not pretty much 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. 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 into slow foodstuff and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the read 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 sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a mood than a location.

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

Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this give another sort of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nonetheless it rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing something new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. 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 forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

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

So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.