Slow Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Explore in a Tranquil Speed in 2025

Some spots aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of spots in which locals learn how to linger — above espresso, above tales, more than lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a good thought. It feels essential. Perhaps it’s a reaction to several years of rushing. Or possibly it’s exactly what takes place when you ultimately start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding Pleasure in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out 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 looking at the whole world.

So for those who’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk 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 Considerably to carry out, which can be precisely the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built proper into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, along with the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down basically tends to make a trip very last longer with your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Quiet, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes develop right here, and locals know how to get pleasure from them properly — which can be to say, little by little.

There’s a perspective from the sting of city that’s well worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with unforeseen frescoes, doorways that make you prevent, and piazzas that come to feel much more like living rooms.

If you receive caught in a very dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it come about. That’s where by the ideal vacation tales start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life here. Pienza was created to be “the perfect city,” and honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner has a check out. Every single perspective has a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Folks acquire their time below, and inevitably, so does one.

In search of much more context on why in this manner of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow food and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the read prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone ways and unforeseen murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Dwell here. Writers stop by and don’t go away. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels additional similar to a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets strike various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase everything in this article. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this emotion inside a new piece on sluggish travel — how spots like this supply a read more unique sort of luxury. One which doesn’t feature a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for notice, nevertheless it benefits individuals who detect. You wander the loop and after that stroll it again, seeing something new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.

This is when the south of Italy displays its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not within a “concealed gem” way — within a “this truly hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits within 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 Element of a preservation venture — preserving the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His site talks about honoring location and time, and that’s just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, which is what makes it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Intelligent
Listed here’s the detail. You may see Italy in a week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a new notion. However it’s a person we’re ultimately prepared to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Select a village. Sit even now for a while. Let Italy arrive at you.