Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Peaceful Pace in 2025

Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Slow travel in Italy means that you can genuinely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The varieties of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a response to years of rushing. Or even it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to value time up to distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of viewing the globe.

So should you’re willing to go slow — therefore you’re imagining Italy — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be precisely the place. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to notice The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s complete.

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

The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early morning, hikers winding as a result of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with folks? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down in fact helps make a visit last longer as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes mature in this article, and locals understand how to appreciate them adequately — which can be to state, slowly.

There’s a watch from the edge of town that’s truly worth here an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel far more like residing rooms.

If you can get caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it materialize. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was meant to be “the right metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual see has a breeze.

But it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells astounding. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.

Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine 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 methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a place.

Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience in a very modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is where the south of Italy shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — holding the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new plan. But it really’s 1 we’re at last ready to listen to.

So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit still for a while. Allow Italy come to you.