Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Investigate in a Tranquil Tempo in 2025

Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Investigate in a Tranquil Tempo in 2025

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Some places aren’t designed for speed. Italy is filled with them. Slow travel in Italy helps you to definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own private tempo.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes much too slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The types of areas where locals learn how to linger — around coffee, above stories, in excess of daily life.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant concept. It feels vital. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s precisely what transpires any time you finally begin to value time around distance. Either way, extra vacationers are locating joy in Mastering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent several years Discovering how we connect with culture and area, is a component of that movement. His name is now connected with a deeper, a lot more considerate means of looking at the world.

So when you’re prepared to go sluggish — and you also’re considering Italy — Listed below are seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your first impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You walk across a long, elevated route, and once you arrive, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. An individual cat stretching from the Sunshine.

There’s not much to complete, which can be precisely the place. You wander, perhaps seize a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to notice the light. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s full.

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 designed right in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears into the rocks.

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

Want to master why that kind of vacation sticks with people today? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down basically makes a trip last lengthier inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes expand here here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to mention, gradually.

There’s a watch from the edge of town that’s well worth an hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll discover churches with surprising frescoes, doorways which make you quit, and piazzas that sense much more like dwelling rooms.

If you get trapped in a very dialogue with another person older, Enable it materialize. That’s where by the most beneficial journey tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life listed here. Pienza was built to be “an ideal city,” and Truthfully, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a check out. Every look at features a breeze.

But it really’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells awesome. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in store windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t hurry anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Individuals just take their time here, and finally, so would you.

Looking for more context on why in this way of touring matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual food stuff and travel in Italy. Well worth the study prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone methods and surprising murals and shadows that shift get more info given that the working day moves. Artists Reside here. Writers check out and don’t go away. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels a lot more similar to a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets strike diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase nearly here anything here. You let it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation in the recent piece on gradual vacation — how sites similar to this offer a different kind of luxurious. One which doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for attention, but it rewards those that notice. You walk the loop and then walk it yet again, looking at anything new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is when the south of Italy shows its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Quite alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — within a “this basically hasn’t improved” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are A part of a preservation project — trying to keep the past alive by inviting visitors into it.

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

Slow Is the New Good
Below’s the thing. You may see Italy in a week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you forget about it by upcoming Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a completely new plan. However it’s one particular we’re last but not least wanting to hear.

So go. Gradually. Pick a village. Sit still for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.