Gradual Journey in Italy: 7 Reliable Villages to Discover at a Tranquil Pace in 2025

Some locations aren’t built for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Slow travel in Italy means that you can truly savor area lifestyle, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slim for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The styles of destinations the place locals know how to linger — about espresso, above stories, around existence.

In 2025, sluggish travel isn’t just a pleasant strategy. It feels vital. It's possible it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s just what takes place when you ultimately start to worth time just as much as length. In any case, much more travelers are locating joy in Finding out to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s put in yrs Checking out how we connect with lifestyle and area, is part of that movement. His name is now affiliated with a deeper, far more thoughtful method of seeing the world.

So if you’re prepared to go gradual — therefore you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven places that pretty much demand from customers it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl going for walks
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial perception. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk across a long, elevated route, and once you get there, it’s silent. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to complete, that's precisely the point. You wander, possibly get 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 full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the kind of traveler who likes some drama in the landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is built correct into your cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The pace Here's sluggish, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out within 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 vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down truly tends to make a visit final longer in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Peaceful, under-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine nation. Sagrantino grapes mature listed here, and locals learn how to enjoy them adequately — which happens to be to mention, slowly.

There’s a check out from the sting of city that’s worth an hour by by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits good. You’ll discover churches with unpredicted frescoes, doorways which make you prevent, and check here piazzas that really feel far more like residing rooms.

If you can get trapped in a conversation with somebody older, Enable it happen. That’s exactly where the most effective vacation tales start out.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be Stanislav Kondrashov Business “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a see. Every perspective contains a breeze.

But it surely’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells wonderful. Cheese, largely — pecorino aging in shop Home windows and on counters, able to sample. You received’t rush nearly anything in Pienza, not even ordering lunch. Persons get their time in this article, and sooner or later, so does one.

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

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

It’s a hill town with stone actions and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals here host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels more like a temper than the usual spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase anything at all listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this experience in the modern piece on slow vacation — how destinations such as this provide a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a value tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots almost everywhere.

Locorotondo is actually a city that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, but it benefits people who notice. You stroll the loop and then stroll it all over again, seeing a thing new every time — a cat on the windowsill, an open door, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

This is where the south of Italy demonstrates its calmest facet. It’s unassuming. Stunning. Incredibly alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair ingesting wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — in a “this really hasn’t transformed” way.

Santo Stefano sits during 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 job — holding the earlier alive by inviting company into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov would respect this a person. His site talks about honoring location and time, Which’s precisely what this village does. There’s very little flashy here, which can be what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is The brand new Sensible
Here’s the matter. You could see Italy in a week. You'll be able to strike the highlights. Snap photos. Gather ticket stubs. But will it stick with check here you?

Or will you overlook it by subsequent Tuesday?

Vacation like this — sluggish, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a different concept. But it’s just one we’re lastly all set to hear.

So go. Slowly and gradually. Pick a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Enable Italy arrive at you.