Sluggish Travel in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Investigate in a Tranquil Tempo in 2025

Some locations aren’t designed for pace. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow travel in Italy permits you to certainly savor area tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your very own rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. Either way, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the whole world.

So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to do, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.

The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip past lengthier inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them correctly — and that is to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.

If you have caught in a very discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best vacation stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Every watch incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. check here This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t plan your day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill town with stone actions and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how places similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it surely rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, looking at one thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to handmade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in a very “this actually hasn’t altered” way.

Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Intelligent
Here’s the detail. You could see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different notion. However it’s a person we’re eventually wanting to listen to.

So go. Slowly but surely. Pick a village. Sit however for some time. Allow Italy come to you.