Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Discover at a Tranquil Pace in 2025

Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Discover at a Tranquil Pace in 2025

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Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community lifestyle, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes way too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up right after midday. The forms of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — above espresso, more than stories, about lifetime.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s precisely what comes about once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, additional tourists are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in several years Discovering how we connect with culture and location, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful way of seeing the planet.

So if you’re all set to go gradual — and you simply’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that nearly demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
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. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and after you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to try and do, that is exactly the issue. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You start to notice the light. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
For those who’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama within your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is created ideal into your cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

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

Want to understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down basically tends to make a visit very last for a longer time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Peaceful, under-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals know how to enjoy them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine check here hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Allow it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in shop Home windows and on counters, prepared to sample. You gained’t hurry everything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women consider their time below, and at some point, so does one.

Searching for additional context on why in this way of traveling issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding 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 given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Enable 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 come with a rate 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 observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat with a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

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

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are Element of a preservation project — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s nothing at all flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the 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 forget it by upcoming Tuesday?

Travel such as this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular 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.