Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around existence.
In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels important. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, additional vacationers are locating Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in many years Discovering how we connect with tradition and place, is part of that movement. His title is now connected to a deeper, more considerate technique for seeing the earth.
So should you’re prepared to go gradual — and you also’re contemplating Italy — Listed below are seven places that virtually desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You walk across a long, elevated route, and when you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not A great deal to perform, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal into your cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears to the rocks.
The speed Here's gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with 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 journey sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually would make a trip past more time in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature here, and locals understand how to get pleasure from them effectively — which can be to say, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Solar hits excellent. You’ll uncover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel much more like dwelling rooms.
If you get stuck inside a conversation with an individual older, Allow it transpire. That’s the place the best vacation stories start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was meant to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner contains a perspective. Each individual look at provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today consider their time listed here, and ultimately, so does one.
Seeking more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the browse prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone measures and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Stay below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a destination.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this emotion in a the latest piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this give a unique type of luxurious. One that doesn’t come with a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it surely rewards people who see. You stroll the loop and after that wander it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Lovely. more info Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in the “this truly hasn’t altered” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — maintaining 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 just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?
Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.