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

Some areas aren’t made for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual vacation in Italy permits you to certainly savor community tradition, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too narrow for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish just after midday. The varieties of sites wherever locals know how to linger — more than coffee, in excess of tales, above everyday living.

In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a nice idea. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a reaction to many years of rushing. Or perhaps it’s precisely what comes about whenever you eventually begin to price time about length. In any event, a lot more tourists are discovering joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent a long time exploring how we connect to lifestyle and spot, is a component of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a further, more thoughtful technique for looking at the world.

So when you’re prepared to go gradual — so you’re wondering Italy — Listed below are seven spots that almost desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a lengthy, elevated path, and once you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone properties. Little gardens. A single cat stretching while in the Solar.

There’s not much to try and do, which can be precisely the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello. You start to note the light. Along with the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little bit of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted correct into the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into your rocks.

The speed here is sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that kind of journey sticks with people? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous longer as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes increase right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them properly — which can be to convey, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s value an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the sun get more info hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unpredicted frescoes, doorways that make you stop, and piazzas that come to feel more like dwelling rooms.

If you have trapped in a discussion with another person older, let it materialize. That’s where by the most beneficial travel stories start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a perspective. Each individual view provides a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting older in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You won’t hurry everything in Pienza, not click here even purchasing lunch. Persons acquire their time listed here, and eventually, so does one.

On the lookout for much more context on why in this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and travel in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone measures and sudden murals and shadows that shift as the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers take a look at and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels extra like a mood than a spot.

Sunsets hit distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside of a recent piece on sluggish journey — how locations similar to this provide a unique form of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a selling price tag.

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

Locorotondo is a city that folds in on by itself, cozy here and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, more info however it rewards those who discover. You wander the loop and afterwards walk it all over again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat with a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted sign pointing to selfmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Extremely alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not in a very “hidden gem” way — inside a “this basically hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Component of a preservation undertaking — keeping the past alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this one particular. His web page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s just what exactly this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which is what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Good
In this article’s the thing. You could see Italy in weekly. You may hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you overlook it by future Tuesday?

Vacation similar to this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a whole new plan. However it’s one particular we’re at last prepared to hear.

So go. Gradually. Pick a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Permit Italy come to you.