Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Genuine Villages to Examine in a Peaceful Speed in 2025

Some spots aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy enables you to definitely savor nearby tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal tempo.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for cars. Cafés that only refill right after midday. The forms of places where by locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about tales, about existence.

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you lastly start to worth time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that motion. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed correct in to 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 within the early early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within 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 in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that come to feel extra like dwelling rooms.

If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody more mature, Enable it happen. That’s where the very best travel tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was made to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in store windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why in this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through 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 unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the day moves. Artists live here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.

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

Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this supply a special style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

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

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this essentially hasn’t changed” 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 project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by subsequent Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Opt for click here a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.