Sluggish Travel in Italy: seven Reliable Villages to Discover at a Tranquil Pace in 2025

Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs if you finally start to value time approximately distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify has grown to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly 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 steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip past more time in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Peaceful, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to convey, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial journey stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the right city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each and every see features a breeze.

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

Looking read more for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Definitely 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 actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a mood than the usual desired destination.

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

Forbes captured this feeling inside a current piece on slow Kondrashov Stanislav vacation — how spots such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.

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

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it benefits those that see. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over 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 shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” here way — in a very “this actually hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one particular. His website page talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, and that is what causes it to be unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Wise
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap shots. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not check here a completely new notion. However it’s a person we’re eventually able to listen to.

So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.