Sluggish Journey in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Investigate at a Peaceful Tempo in 2025

Some spots aren’t created for velocity. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to genuinely savor area tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only refill just after midday. The kinds of destinations where by locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, more than stories, around lifestyle.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice thought. It feels critical. Maybe it’s a reaction to yrs of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you ultimately begin to worth time up to distance. Either way, more tourists are locating joy in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, a lot more considerate technique for observing the globe.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that nearly demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not much to perform, which is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into your cliffs. Literally 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 during the early early morning, hikers winding by way 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 vacation sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually makes a visit last longer as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes develop in this article, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which happens to be to mention, slowly but surely.

There’s a see from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that come to feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Every perspective provides a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time here, and finally, so does one.

Seeking extra context on why in this way of touring issues? 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 techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift as the working day moves. Artists live here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to more info a mood than a destination.

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

Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow journey — how spots like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a price tag tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at one thing new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. 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 of a “this really hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the point. You are able to see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it really’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for a while. Let Italy come to you.