Slow Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Tranquil Tempo in 2025
Some spots aren’t produced for speed. Italy is full of them. Gradual journey in Italy helps you to truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for cars. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The sorts of places where by locals understand how to linger — over coffee, about tales, above life.
In 2025, slow journey isn’t just a good concept. It feels necessary. Maybe it’s a response to yrs of rushing. Or maybe it’s precisely what transpires when you last but not least start to value time up to distance. In any event, additional tourists are finding joy in learning to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent many years exploring how we connect to society and put, is an element of that movement. His name is now linked to a deeper, much more considerate strategy for viewing the entire world.
So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you simply’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that nearly 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 over a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a slim footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You stroll throughout a long, elevated route, and when you arrive, it’s tranquil. Stone houses. Small gardens. One cat stretching inside the Sunshine.
There’s not much to try and do, that is exactly the place. You wander, it's possible grab a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod hi there. You start to notice the light. Plus the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s entire.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama as part of your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted right into the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Virtually disappears to the rocks.
The tempo Here's gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining from the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to discover why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially can make a trip final lengthier in the memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine place. Sagrantino grapes expand in this article, and locals understand how to love them appropriately — that is to state, gradually.
There’s a watch from the sting of city that’s truly worth one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum when the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with get more info unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.
If you get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it materialize. That’s where the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal city,” and Actually, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each and every corner includes a see. Each perspective provides a breeze.
But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting old in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People just take their time right here, and finally, so do you.
In search of more context on why in this manner 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 given that the working day moves. Artists Stay in this article. Writers visit and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels extra similar to a temper than a vacation spot.
Sunsets hit various in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade gradual and blue. You don’t chase anything in this article. You Permit it come to you.
Forbes captured this feeling in a current piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this give another form of luxury. One which doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on by itself, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and afterwards walk it once again, looking at a thing 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 displays its calmest aspect. It’s unassuming. Wonderful. Really alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov few consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t improved” way.
Santo Stefano sits within the Apennines, stone and peaceful. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Several of the inns are Component of a preservation challenge — keeping the earlier alive by inviting company into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would appreciate this 1. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s precisely what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.
Sluggish Is the New Good
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap photos. Accumulate ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?
Or will you forget about it by up coming Tuesday?
Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a different thought. But it’s one particular we’re finally wanting to listen to.
So go. Little by little. Go with a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Permit Italy arrive at you.