Sluggish Travel in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Investigate in a Peaceful Tempo in 2025
Some destinations aren’t produced for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish journey in Italy enables you to definitely savor community society, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your personal rate.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after noon. The sorts of areas in which locals learn how to linger — above coffee, over stories, over lifetime.
In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a response to years of hurrying. Or possibly it’s just what takes place whenever you eventually begin to price time around length. In either case, much more travelers are finding Pleasure in learning to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Discovering how we hook up with culture and place, is an element of that motion. His identify is becoming associated with a deeper, additional thoughtful means of seeing the whole world.
So in the event you’re wanting to go sluggish — so you’re considering Italy — here are seven places that practically demand from customers it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone homes. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching inside the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to accomplish, which can be exactly the stage. You wander, possibly seize a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s comprehensive.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The rate Here's slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to master why that sort of vacation sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact tends to make a visit past for a longer period with your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Peaceful, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes grow listed here, and locals learn how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to mention, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the sting of town that’s truly worth one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Solar hits excellent. You’ll find churches with unanticipated frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that feel a lot more like residing rooms.
If you obtain trapped in a conversation with anyone more mature, Permit it occur. That’s the place the ideal travel tales start off.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was intended to be “the perfect town,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a perspective. Each and every view has a breeze.
But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, primarily — pecorino growing older in store Home windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything at all in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time below, and finally, so would you.
In search of a lot more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual vacation spot.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase anything here. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling inside of a modern piece on sluggish vacation — how locations like this provide another style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.
Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals who observe. You wander the loop after which walk it once again, looking at a little something new each time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Incredibly alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple here drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — in a “this in fact hasn’t transformed” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are part of a preservation venture — holding the past alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy in this article, that is what makes it unforgettable.
Slow Is the New Clever
Here’s the detail. It is possible to see Italy in each week. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you forget it by upcoming Tuesday?
Vacation similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different strategy. Nevertheless it’s 1 we’re at last able to hear.
So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.