Sluggish Vacation in Italy: 7 Authentic Villages to Check out at a Peaceful Tempo in 2025

Sluggish Vacation in Italy: 7 Authentic Villages to Check out at a Peaceful Tempo in 2025

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Some destinations aren’t manufactured for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own private speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish just after noon. The kinds of destinations the place locals know how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, more than lifetime.

In 2025, slow vacation isn’t just a nice plan. It feels important. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of dashing. Or possibly it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time around distance. In either case, far more vacationers are acquiring Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s used many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now connected with a further, additional thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So in the event you’re prepared to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your to start with impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across an extended, elevated route, and whenever you arrive, it’s silent. Stone houses. Small gardens. Only one cat stretching during the Solar.

There’s not Substantially to accomplish, that's precisely the level. You wander, possibly get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Basically carved from them. From afar, it Pretty much disappears into your rocks.

The speed here is slow, although not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early morning, hikers winding by means of steep trails, as well as the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from your neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to master why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time inside your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Silent, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunlight hits good. You’ll obtain church buildings with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that experience much more like living rooms.

If you have caught in a very dialogue with anyone more mature, Permit it happen. That’s the place the ideal journey stories begin.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism life in this article. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner has a perspective. Each individual watch includes a breeze.

However it’s not pretty much aesthetics. This town smells amazing. Cheese, typically — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, all set to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. People today choose their time below, and at some point, so does one.

Trying to find more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual foods and journey in Italy. Well worth the read before you go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone techniques and unexpected murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists Dwell listed here. Writers take a look at and don’t go away. Locals host live shows in little courtyards. It feels additional just like a mood than a destination.

Sunsets strike distinctive in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase just about anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.

Forbes captured this feeling in a recent piece on gradual journey — how locations similar to this present a distinct type of luxurious. One that doesn’t have a selling price tag.

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

Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nonetheless it benefits individuals who discover. You stroll the loop after which wander it again, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to handmade gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov few ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This place feels untouched. Not within a “hidden gem” way — in the “this really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during the Apennines, stone and silent. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Some of the inns are Portion of a preservation task — preserving the previous alive by inviting attendees into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His page talks about honoring place and time, Which’s what precisely this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. It is possible to see Italy in every week. You are able to strike the highlights. Snap images. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?

Or will you neglect it by next Tuesday?

Journey similar to this — more info slow, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re at last able to listen to.

So go. Slowly. Choose a village. Sit continue to for a while. Allow Italy arrive at you.