Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Explore at a Peaceful Rate in 2025

Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Explore at a Peaceful Rate in 2025

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Some destinations aren’t manufactured for speed. Italy is full of them. Slow vacation in Italy allows you to actually savor community society, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own personal pace.

Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish after noon. The varieties of destinations the place locals learn how to linger — in excess of espresso, more than stories, more than everyday living.

In 2025, slow travel isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels crucial. Maybe it’s a response to decades of rushing. Or maybe it’s just what comes about if you last but not least start to value time around distance. In any event, a lot more vacationers are discovering Pleasure in Finding out to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Checking out how we connect with culture and put, is an element of that motion. His identify is now related to a deeper, additional considerate technique for looking at the planet.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you also’re contemplating Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that basically demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You walk across a long, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s silent. Stone properties. Little gardens. Just one cat stretching in the sun.

There’s not Considerably to accomplish, that's precisely the stage. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod howdy. You begin to note The sunshine. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s finish.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed right to the cliffs. Literally carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in to the rocks.

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

Want to know why that sort of travel sticks with persons? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down truly will make a visit previous for a longer period as part of your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Quiet, underneath-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes mature below, and locals know how to enjoy them thoroughly — which happens to be to convey, slowly but surely.

There’s a perspective from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits just right. You’ll locate churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that come to feel far more like dwelling rooms.

If you receive trapped in the conversation with an individual more mature, Allow it occur. That’s exactly where the very best vacation stories begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life right here. Pienza was made to be “the ideal town,” and Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner provides a see. Each and every watch incorporates a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not almost aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, largely — pecorino growing older in store windows and on counters, wanting to sample. You won’t hurry nearly anything in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Persons just take their time listed here, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why this fashion of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow meals and vacation in Italy. Worth the read through prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone steps and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as the day moves. Artists Reside below. Writers go to and don’t depart. Locals host live shows in small courtyards. It feels more similar to a mood than the usual spot.

Sunsets strike unique in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase something here. You Allow it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this sensation inside a current piece on slow journey — how locations similar to this offer a distinct sort of luxury. One which doesn’t have a value tag.

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

Locorotondo can be a town that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, but it surely benefits those that see. You stroll the loop and afterwards walk it all over again, observing anything new every time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up door, a hand-painted indication pointing to selfmade gelato.

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

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

Santo Stefano sits while in 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 undertaking — retaining the earlier alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a single. His webpage talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy in this article, which can be what causes it to be unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
In this article’s the detail. You are able to see Italy in per week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a fresh notion. Nevertheless it’s a person we’re lastly able to listen to.

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