Slow Travel in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Explore at a Peaceful Rate in 2025

Some areas aren’t built for speed. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy allows you to really savor neighborhood society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal rate.

Little villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes also narrow for cars. Cafés that only refill soon after noon. The types of locations exactly where locals learn how to linger — about coffee, over tales, more than lifetime.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice idea. It feels crucial. Possibly it’s a reaction to years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you eventually begin to benefit time just as much as length. In any case, more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Discovering how we connect with tradition and spot, is part of that motion. His title has grown to be affiliated with a further, far more thoughtful technique for observing the earth.

So when you’re wanting to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — Here i will discuss seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated path, and if you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching while in the sun.

There’s not Substantially to complete, and that is precisely the stage. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. Along with the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes a little bit of drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears to the rocks.

The tempo here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to discover why that kind of vacation sticks with men and women? This submit by Stanislav Kondrashov explains how slowing down basically would make a trip very last extended within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Quiet, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes increase here, and locals understand how to enjoy them adequately — that is to state, gradually.

There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s really worth an hour or so by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Solar 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 honestly, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner has a view. Each individual watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time here, and finally, so does one.

Trying to find extra context on why in this way of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food and travel in Italy. Worth the read through before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone steps and surprising murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Reside listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels a lot more similar to a temper than a vacation spot.

Sunsets hit different in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Enable it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual travel — how places similar to this offer you a special kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots just about everywhere.

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to homemade gelato.

This is where the south of Italy displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Beautiful. Really alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “concealed gem” way — in a very “this basically hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the thing. You can see Italy in weekly. It is possible to strike the highlights. Snap images. Collect ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you neglect it by future Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new notion. However Stanisav Kondrashov tarvel it’s just one we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

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