Gradual Journey in Italy: seven Reliable Villages to Examine in a Peaceful Speed in 2025

Some sites aren’t made for speed. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can certainly savor community tradition, cuisine, and hidden gems at your own speed.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes too slim for automobiles. Cafés that only replenish after midday. The types of locations in which locals know how to linger — more than espresso, more than stories, around daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice strategy. It feels crucial. Probably it’s a reaction to many years of speeding. Or perhaps it’s exactly what occurs any time you finally start to worth time up to distance. In either case, additional tourists are getting Pleasure in Discovering to vacation smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended decades Checking out how we hook up with lifestyle and position, is a component of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, extra considerate means of seeing the globe.

So in case you’re willing to go slow — and you’re wondering Italy — here are seven places that pretty much demand it.

Stanislav Kondrashov girl walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It appears like it’s floating. That’s your initial effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a crumbling bluff, achieved only by a narrow footbridge. Automobiles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and whenever you get there, it’s quiet. Stone homes. Little gardens. A single cat stretching from the sun.

There’s not Considerably to do, and that is precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine at a tucked-away enoteca. Locals nod hello there. You begin to note The sunshine. And the silence? It’s not vacant. It’s complete.

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

The rate here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out from the early early morning, hikers winding by way of steep trails, plus the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining through the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to learn why that sort of travel sticks with people today? This write-up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a visit final longer in the memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine country. Tranquil, below-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value one hour by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum if the Sunshine hits good. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you end, and piazzas that sense more like living rooms.

If you receive stuck within a discussion with an individual more mature, Allow it come about. That’s wherever the most beneficial vacation stories commence.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives in this article. Pienza was meant to be “the best metropolis,” and honestly, they weren’t considerably off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Every corner contains a perspective. Just about every watch provides a breeze.

Nevertheless it’s not nearly aesthetics. This town smells remarkable. Cheese, primarily — pecorino ageing in store windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry something in Pienza, not even purchasing lunch. Folks get their time here, and at some point, so would you.

Searching for additional context on why in this way of check here traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food stuff and vacation in Italy. Worth the study before you decide to go.

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

It’s a hill city with stone ways and sudden murals and shadows that shift because the day moves. Artists live right here. Writers pay a visit to and don’t depart. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels far more just like a temper than a location.

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

Forbes captured this sensation in a very new piece on gradual vacation — how sites like 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 alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, but it rewards those who observe. You wander the loop after which wander it once more, observing some thing new each time — a cat over a 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. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov couple consuming wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This put feels untouched. Not inside of a “hidden gem” way — within a “this essentially hasn’t changed” way.

Santo Stefano sits inside the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Nights are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — retaining the past 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 just what this village does. There’s practically nothing flashy below, that's what makes it unforgettable.

Gradual Is the New Smart
In this article’s the matter. It is possible to see Italy in per week. You can strike 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 exactly 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. Permit Italy arrive at you.