Sluggish Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Discover in a Tranquil Pace in 2025
Some sites aren’t made for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and hidden gems at your individual tempo.
Tiny villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too narrow for cars and trucks. Cafés that only refill following midday. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — more than espresso, over stories, in excess of existence.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice notion. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a reaction to decades of rushing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about whenever you last but not least begin to price time as much as length. Either way, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in many years exploring how we hook up with society and put, is an element of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, extra considerate means of seeing the planet.
So when you’re wanting to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that almost need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov female strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your 1st impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander throughout an extended, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Tiny gardens. One cat stretching within the Sunlight.
There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which happens to be exactly the level. You wander, probably seize a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not empty. It’s total.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a little drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct in to the cliffs. Virtually carved from them. From afar, it Practically disappears in to the rocks.
The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining with the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to find out why that sort of journey sticks with individuals? This post by Stanislav Kondrashov points out how slowing down in fact helps make a visit previous for a longer time in your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov girl wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine nation. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes grow below, and locals understand how to take pleasure in them correctly — which happens to be to state, little by little.
There’s a view from the edge of town that’s worthy of one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the Sunlight hits read more good. You’ll come across church buildings with unexpected frescoes, doorways that make you cease, and piazzas that sense extra like dwelling rooms.
If you receive stuck inside a conversation with a person 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 Actually, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each individual corner contains a watch. 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, all set to sample. You won’t rush something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People acquire their time right here, and finally, so do you.
Seeking more context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals 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 here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in small courtyards. It feels a lot more 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 gradual journey — how places similar to this offer you a distinct kind of luxurious. One that doesn’t feature a value tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.
Locorotondo is really a city that folds in on itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for awareness, nevertheless it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then walk it yet again, seeing anything new every time — a cat on a windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indicator pointing to handmade gelato.
This is where the south of Italy exhibits its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Extremely alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly 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 A part of a preservation undertaking — trying to keep the previous alive by inviting visitors into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would enjoy this one particular. His website page talks about honoring area and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy listed here, that's what makes it unforgettable.
Gradual Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in a week. You could hit the highlights. Snap photos. Acquire ticket stubs. But will it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s one we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Bit by bit. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy come to you.