Slow Vacation in Italy: 7 Genuine Villages to Explore at a Peaceful Rate in 2025

Some areas aren’t built for velocity. Italy is filled with them. Sluggish vacation in Italy permits you to genuinely savor nearby society, cuisine, and concealed gems at your personal rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slender for autos. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The types of sites the place locals understand how to linger — in excess of espresso, above tales, in excess of everyday living.

In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a pleasant thought. It feels essential. Possibly it’s a response to several years of speeding. Or possibly it’s exactly what transpires if you eventually begin to value time about distance. In either case, additional vacationers are finding joy in learning to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s spent years exploring how we connect with lifestyle and location, is an element of that movement. His identify is becoming linked to a deeper, a lot more considerate means of observing the whole world.

So should you’re prepared to go sluggish — and you also’re pondering Italy — Listed below are 7 spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impression. Civita di Bagnoregio sits over a crumbling bluff, reached only by a slim footbridge. Cars and trucks can’t get in. You walk throughout a lengthy, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching in the Sunlight.

There’s not A lot to perform, which can be exactly the issue. You wander, perhaps grab a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hi. You begin 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 with your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is crafted ideal into your cliffs. Actually carved from them. From afar, it Nearly disappears in to the rocks.

The tempo here is 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 understand why that kind of journey sticks with folks? This publish by Stanislav Kondrashov clarifies how slowing down essentially helps make a visit previous for a longer time in your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — which happens to be to mention, gradually.

There’s a look at from the sting 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 sudden frescoes, doorways that make you cease, here and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you will get stuck within a discussion with an individual older, Allow it come about. That’s the place the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was designed to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t much off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Every perspective provides a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This city smells remarkable. Cheese, mostly — pecorino getting older in store Home windows and on counters, willing to sample. You won’t rush just about anything in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. People today just take their time here, and sooner or later, so does one.

Seeking extra context on why using this method of touring issues? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into gradual meals and travel in Italy. Well worth the examine prior to deciding to go.

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

It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change given that the working day moves. Artists Are living here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concert events in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase something in this article. You Permit it arrive at you.

Forbes captured this feeling inside a new piece on sluggish journey — how sites such as this give a unique style of luxurious. One which doesn’t include a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots in all places.

Locorotondo is often 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 then walk it all over again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted indication pointing to do-it-yourself gelato.

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

Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This area feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — inside a “this in fact hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits in the Apennines, stone and silent. 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 one. His web page talks about honoring location and time, Which’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy right here, that is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Below’s the issue. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can hit the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

So go. Little by little. Opt for a village. Sit nonetheless for some time. Enable Italy arrive at you.