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

Some locations aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you actually savor neighborhood lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your individual speed.

Very small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish soon after midday. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, around stories, in excess of lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a good concept. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or perhaps it’s just what takes place after you lastly start to worth time up to length. In any event, more travelers are locating joy in Understanding to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be connected to a further, a lot more thoughtful technique for looking at the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go sluggish — and also you’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that basically demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your first 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 silent. Stone houses. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is designed ideal into the cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.

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

Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine region. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals know how to delight in them effectively — which is to mention, slowly but surely.

There’s a more info look at from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.

If you receive stuck within a conversation with an individual older, Allow it take place. That’s where by the best vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a look at. Every single check out features a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. 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 Stanisav Kondrashov tarvel take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Looking for far more context on why by doing this of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish foods and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill city with stone techniques and sudden murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything here. You Enable it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop and after that stroll it once again, viewing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy exhibits its get more info calmest aspect. get more info It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.

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

Santo Stefano sits while in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new plan. However it’s a person we’re last but not least ready to hear.

So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.