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

Some spots aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual travel in Italy means that you can definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — around coffee, around stories, in excess of existence.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time approximately distance. In either case, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and put, is an element of that motion. His title is now linked to a deeper, a lot more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — therefore you’re pondering Italy — Here's seven spots that virtually 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 stroll across an extended, elevated path, and if you arrive, it’s silent. Stone homes. Very small gardens. One cat stretching within the Solar.

There’s not Substantially to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note the light. Plus the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

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

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

Want to understand why that sort of travel sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down really makes a visit final more time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow right here, and locals know how to enjoy them appropriately — and that is to website say, slowly but surely.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you will get caught in the conversation with a person older, Enable it happen. That’s where here by the most effective travel tales commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was made to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.

But it surely’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely here worth the study 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 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 small courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a location.

Sunsets strike different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling inside a recent piece on gradual travel — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. 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 people that recognize. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time more info — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in 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. A number of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in every week. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by next Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s just one we’re ultimately all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.