Sluggish Travel in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Peaceful Tempo in 2025

Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy lets you definitely savor regional tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your very own pace.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places where by locals know how to linger — around coffee, in excess of tales, more than everyday living.

In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a pleasant idea. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to a long time of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place any time you lastly start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with tradition and area, is part of that motion. His title is becoming linked to a deeper, much more considerate way of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — so you’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

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

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down essentially can make a visit previous for a longer time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a conversation with a person older, let it occur. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time listed here, and ultimately, so would you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the study 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 right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a mood than a location.

Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One which get more info doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it rewards those who detect. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each 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 side. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web site 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.

Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re last but not least prepared to hear.

So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit nevertheless for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.