Sluggish Travel in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Investigate in a Tranquil Tempo in 2025
Some areas aren’t manufactured for pace. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy helps you to definitely savor nearby tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own pace.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of locations in which locals understand how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, more than everyday living.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to yrs of speeding. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name has grown to be connected with a deeper, extra considerate way of looking at the whole world.
So if you’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Here's seven places 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 wander across a protracted, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Solar.
There’s not Significantly to carry out, that's precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in the rocks.
The tempo here is gradual, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out while in the early morning, hikers winding via steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a visit very last extended within your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Quiet, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to get pleasure from them effectively — which is to mention, gradually.
There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worthy of an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the sun hits good. You’ll find churches with unforeseen frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and piazzas that truly feel a lot more like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside of a dialogue with somebody older, let it occur. That’s in which the top journey stories commence.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the right town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner features a see. Each view has a breeze.
But it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mainly — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so does one.
Trying to find more context on why in this manner of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and travel in more info Italy. Worth the read through read more prior to deciding to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t program your day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill town with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in little courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a spot.
Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something right here. You let it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this supply a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, but it surely rewards individuals who see. You walk the loop and then stroll it all over again, viewing something new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy displays more info its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Quite alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t modified” way.
Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Portion of a preservation job — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy below, and that is what causes it website to be unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Wise
Here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to hit the highlights. Snap pics. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh idea. But it surely’s a single we’re at last able to listen to.
So go. Gradually. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.