Slow Travel in Italy: 7 Authentic Villages to Examine at a Peaceful Speed in 2025

Slow Travel in Italy: 7 Authentic Villages to Examine at a Peaceful Speed in 2025

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Some spots aren’t created for speed. Italy is filled with them. Slow journey in Italy allows you to really savor local society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for vehicles. Cafés that only fill up just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, over stories, above lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a good thought. It feels critical. Perhaps it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least begin to price time about length. In any case, much more travelers are obtaining joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is a component of that movement. His identify happens to be associated with a further, additional thoughtful method of looking at the whole world.

So for those who’re all set to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed here are 7 places that almost need it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunshine.

There’s not much to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
Should you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built suitable in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears in to the rocks.

The speed Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out during the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly makes a visit 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 place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals know how to delight in them properly — which can be 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 good. You’ll obtain church buildings with sudden frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person older, let it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales get started.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was intended to be “an ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every single corner includes a check out. Each and every watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells incredible. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You won’t hurry something in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Men and women take their time below, and ultimately, so would you.

Looking for additional context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the browse before you go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone methods and unanticipated murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in here this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra like a mood than the usual desired destination.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase nearly anything below. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.

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

Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for interest, but it rewards individuals that observe. You wander the loop then wander it once more, observing some thing 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 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 within a “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during 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 Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would recognize this just one. His site talks about honoring position and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s nothing flashy listed here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Smart
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a whole new idea. But it surely’s 1 we’re at last prepared to hear.

So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit however for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.