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

Some areas aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

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

In 2025, gradual vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any event, extra tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate technique for observing the globe.

So in case you’re able to go slow — and you simply’re imagining Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand 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 after you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not much to try and do, which is exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You start to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built right into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, and also 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 journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes develop below, and locals know how to delight in them correctly — which happens to be to say, bit by bit.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll locate churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel additional like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s wherever the best vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. Every single check out features a breeze.

But it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.

Searching for additional context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.

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

Forbes captured this feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how sites such as this provide a different form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.

Locorotondo is often a more info town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop after which wander it again, viewing something 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. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “hidden gem” way — in the “this basically hasn’t altered” 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 — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, and that’s what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, which can be 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. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re finally willing to listen to.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.