Sluggish Travel in Italy: 7 Authentic Villages to Explore at a Peaceful Rate in 2025
Some spots aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy lets you really savor community culture, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own tempo.
Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The forms of places where by locals know how to linger — over espresso, around stories, over existence.
In 2025, gradual journey isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels important. Maybe it’s a reaction to decades of hurrying. Or even it’s exactly what comes about when you ultimately start to value time approximately length. In any case, a lot more vacationers are locating joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Discovering how we connect to lifestyle and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, extra thoughtful means of seeing the earth.
So in case you’re all set to go gradual — and also you’re wondering Italy — Here's 7 places that nearly desire it.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, attained only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You walk throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching within the sun.
There’s not A lot to do, which can be precisely the stage. You wander, it's possible get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You start to notice The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed suitable in to the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in the rocks.
The pace Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, as well as 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 travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact can make a visit previous for a longer period within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them correctly — which can be to mention, little by little.
There’s a watch from the sting of town that’s worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunlight hits just right. You’ll come across church here buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience a lot more like residing rooms.
If you get caught within a conversation with anyone more mature, let it happen. That’s exactly where the very best travel stories begin.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was built to be “the ideal town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner features a look at. Every look at includes a breeze.
However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, mainly — pecorino growing older in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Individuals consider their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.
Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unpredicted murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers check out and don’t leave. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more like a temper than a desired destination.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything below. You Allow it come to you.
Forbes captured this experience inside of a recent piece on gradual vacation — how places similar to this give another sort of luxury. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, but it really benefits those who recognize. You wander the loop then stroll it once again, seeing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted sign pointing to homemade gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — within a “this actually hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Component of a preservation project — trying to keep the earlier alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a single. His website page talks about honoring position and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which happens to be what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Intelligent
Right here’s the matter. You could see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget it by up coming Tuesday?
Journey such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new strategy. But it really’s just one we’re finally all set to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.