Gradual Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Discover in a Tranquil Pace in 2025

Some destinations aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community tradition, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above tales, over lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens if you at last start to value time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used years exploring how we hook up with lifestyle and put, is a component of that movement. His name has become related to a further, extra considerate method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are 7 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 initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to perform, which is exactly the position. You wander, it's possible seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.

The rate Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to find out why that sort of travel sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down essentially tends to make a visit final lengthier in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. 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 worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective contains a breeze.

But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take 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 items and vacation 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 steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift since the day moves. Artists Dwell below. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels additional like a temper than the usual place.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive click here at you.

Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.

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

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that see. You stroll the loop and then walk it all over again, viewing a thing new every 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. Lovely. Pretty alive.

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

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

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget about it by following Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.