Sluggish Journey in Italy: 7 Genuine Villages to Investigate at a Peaceful Speed in 2025

Some locations aren’t created for speed. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish travel in Italy lets you definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The kinds of sites wherever locals know how to linger — around coffee, about tales, above life.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a nice notion. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally start to value time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are finding joy in Studying to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and location, is part of that motion. His identify happens 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 — Here's seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.

There’s not much to perform, which is precisely the stage. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created suitable in the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears into the rocks.

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that kind of travel sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — which can be to state, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the sting of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you will get caught in the discussion with another person more mature, Permit it transpire. 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 much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner incorporates a check out. Each view more info includes a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Looking for additional context on why by doing this of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food and journey in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you decide to go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your 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 below. 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 sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this more info feeling inside of a the latest piece on sluggish travel — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.

Locorotondo is often a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards those who detect. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new every 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 demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A number of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate check here this 1. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s what precisely this village get more info does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Listed here’s the matter. You may see Italy in each week. You can strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you fail to remember it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation like this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a new concept. Nonetheless it’s one particular we’re ultimately ready to hear.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit still for a while. Permit Italy arrive at you.