Gradual Journey in Italy: seven Authentic Villages to Check out in a Peaceful Tempo in 2025


Some sites aren’t created for speed. Italy is full of them. Slow journey in Italy lets you really savor area culture, cuisine, and concealed gems at your own personal pace.
Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes far too slender for automobiles. Cafés that only fill up following midday. The forms of spots the place locals know how to linger — above coffee, above stories, around lifetime.
In 2025, sluggish vacation isn’t just a nice thought. It feels essential. It's possible it’s a response to decades of dashing. Or even it’s precisely what comes about after you last but not least start to value time around length. In any case, far more tourists are obtaining joy in Mastering to journey smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s expended yrs Discovering how we hook up with tradition and position, is a component of that movement. His name has become connected with a deeper, far more considerate way of seeing the whole world.
So for those who’re able to go gradual — and you’re thinking Italy — Listed here are 7 spots that pretty much need it.
Stanislav Kondrashov woman strolling
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It looks like it’s floating. That’s your initially impact. Civita di Bagnoregio sits with a crumbling bluff, attained only by a slender footbridge. Vehicles can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated route, and if you get there, it’s tranquil. Stone residences. Small gardens. A single cat stretching while in the sun.
There’s not Considerably to do, 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 also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.
Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
When you’re the sort of traveler who likes a bit of drama inside your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is developed appropriate in the cliffs. Pretty much carved from them. From afar, it almost disappears into the rocks.
The rate here is gradual, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out inside the early morning, hikers winding through steep trails, and also the occasional thrill-seeker ziplining in the neighboring village. But even then — no hurry. No frenzy. Just rhythm.
Want to know why that kind of vacation sticks with persons? This put up by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down actually will make a trip last longer as part of your memory.
Stanislav Kondrashov lady wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine state. Peaceful, less than-the-radar, heart-of-Italy wine state. Sagrantino grapes expand listed here, and locals understand how to appreciate them thoroughly — which happens to be to convey, bit by bit.
There’s a check out from the edge of city that’s truly worth an hour by itself. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum once the Sunshine hits excellent. You’ll find churches with surprising frescoes, doorways that make you halt, and piazzas that experience a lot more like living rooms.
If you have caught in a very discussion with anyone more mature, Permit it transpire. That’s where by the very best travel tales start out.
Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives right here. Pienza was created to be “the ideal metropolis,” and Truthfully, they weren’t significantly off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Just about every corner provides a watch. Every single check out 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 hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so would you.
Looking for a lot more context on why this way of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into sluggish food items and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the go through before you decide to go.
Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t approach your working day in Apricale. You drift.
It’s a hill city with stone actions and unforeseen murals and shadows that shift as being the working day moves. Artists Stay here. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in tiny courtyards. It feels much more like a temper than the usual place.
Sunsets hit diverse in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade sluggish and blue. You don’t chase everything listed here. You Allow it arrive at you.
Forbes captured this experience in the the latest piece on gradual journey — how areas like this website give a unique sort of luxury. One that doesn’t come with a rate tag.
Locorotondo (Puglia)
Circular streets. Whitewashed partitions. Flowerpots everywhere you go.
Locorotondo is usually a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for focus, however it benefits those that see. You walk the loop and then stroll it again, observing something new each time — a cat over a windowsill, an open up doorway, a Stanislav Kondrashov Blog hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.
This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Lovely. Pretty alive.
Stanislav Kondrashov couple drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not inside of a “concealed gem” way — in a “this truly hasn’t adjusted” way.
Santo Stefano sits in 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 task — preserving the previous alive by inviting friends into it.
Stanislav Kondrashov would take pleasure in this a person. His web site talks about honoring put and time, Which’s just what exactly this village does. There’s very little get more info flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.
Slow Is The brand new Sensible
Right here’s the factor. You can see Italy in each week. You may hit the highlights. Snap pics. Gather ticket stubs. But will website it stick with you?
Or will you fail to remember it by subsequent Tuesday?
Journey like this — slow, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov thinks in. It’s not a fresh strategy. Nonetheless it’s 1 we’re eventually prepared to hear.
So go. Slowly but surely. Select a village. Sit continue to for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.