Sluggish Travel in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Discover in a Tranquil Pace in 2025

Some destinations aren’t created for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Slow vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor neighborhood tradition, Delicacies, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, over lifetime.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or maybe it’s just what occurs once you last but not least start to price time up to length. In any event, more tourists are obtaining Pleasure in Discovering to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we connect to lifestyle and area, is a component of that motion. His identify is becoming related to a further, additional considerate method of viewing the entire world.

So if you’re willing to go slow — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed here are seven places that virtually demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You stroll across a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you arrive, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching in the sun.

There’s not Significantly to carry out, which can be precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note the light. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed appropriate to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears to the rocks.

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

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with individuals? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down actually will make a trip last more time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine place. Silent, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes improve in this article, and locals know how to appreciate them thoroughly — and that is to say, slowly.

There’s a watch from the edge of town that’s truly worth an hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways which make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.

If you receive trapped in a very discussion with anyone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s in which the most effective journey stories start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was created to be “the ideal metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t get more info considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner provides a watch. Every single see has a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This city smells awesome. Cheese, generally — pecorino ageing in shop Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You gained’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time below, and sooner or later, so do you.

On the lookout for additional context on why in this manner of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as website the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels far more just like a mood than a location.

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

Forbes captured this sensation within a latest piece on slow journey — how spots like this offer another form of luxury. One which doesn’t include a cost tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. 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 again, viewing a little something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy more info shows its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Attractive. Very alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This position feels untouched. Not in a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit here by candles. A few of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His site talks about honoring position and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little flashy below, and that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the point. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by upcoming Tuesday?

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

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy come to you.