Slow Vacation in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Explore at a Tranquil Rate in 2025

Some places aren’t produced for pace. Italy is full of them. Sluggish journey in Italy means that you can truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also slender for cars and trucks. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The sorts of places exactly where locals learn how to linger — more than coffee, about stories, in excess of lifestyle.

In 2025, sluggish journey isn’t just a good notion. It feels crucial. Possibly it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens if you last but not least start to benefit time up to length. In any event, extra tourists are discovering joy in Understanding to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is an element of that movement. His name has become related to a further, far more thoughtful way of looking at the whole world.

So if you’re ready to go gradual — so you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are seven places that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Cars can’t get in. You stroll throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and when you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the Sunshine.

There’s not A lot to complete, and that is exactly the issue. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to notice The sunshine. As well as silence? It’s not vacant. It’s total.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the sort of traveler who likes a little drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears in the rocks.

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

Want to know why that sort of journey sticks with men and women? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down basically makes a trip past for a longer time in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes grow here, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to mention, slowly.

There’s a look at from the sting of city that’s well worth an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense far more like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped in a dialogue with someone more mature, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective travel tales start.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life below. Pienza was built to be “the proper metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every look at includes a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, generally — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and inevitably, so do you.

In search of more context on why in this manner of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual 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 as the working day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than the usual destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive 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 slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t more info include a price tag.

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

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted signal pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t adjusted” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and quiet. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. A few of the inns are Section of a preservation job — holding the previous alive by inviting friends into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s what exactly this village does. There’s almost nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.

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

Or will you fail to remember it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a brand new plan. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re ultimately all set to hear.

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