Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Peaceful Speed in 2025

Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Peaceful Speed in 2025

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Some locations aren’t created for pace. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy allows you to truly savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up after noon. The types of sites wherever locals know how to linger — about coffee, in excess of stories, about existence.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about once you eventually begin to benefit time as much as distance. Either way, a lot more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Checking out how we connect with tradition and area, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re ready to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching inside the Solar.

There’s not A lot to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, maybe grab a glass of wine at a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. As well as the silence? It’s not empty. It’s comprehensive.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.

The rate here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during 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 find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous lengthier in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand here, and locals know how to love them appropriately — which is to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, let it take place. That’s the place the ideal journey stories start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a check out. Each and every see contains a breeze.

But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This here city smells wonderful. Cheese, mainly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You received’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks take their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Worth the go through before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside right here. Writers check out and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more like a temper than the usual place.

Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all right here. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation within a current piece on gradual journey — how areas like this give a unique sort of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo can be a city that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it really rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This location feels untouched. Not in the “concealed gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Vacation such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s just one we’re lastly all set to listen to.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Opt for a village. Sit nevertheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.