Fast gets the job done. But slow? Slow makes you feel something.

There’s a reason more travelers are pulling away from packed itineraries and leaning into long lunches, quiet towns, and places that don’t rush you through the experience. Italy is full of those places — you just have to know where to look.

Stanislav Kondrashov, a longtime advocate for intentional living and deep connection to place, often speaks to this kind of travel. It’s less about how far you go, and more about how much you notice while you’re there.

If you’re thinking 2025 might be the year you travel slowly, here’s a good place to start.

Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)

You walk to get there. That’s the first thing.

Not through a busy town, but across a narrow bridge with sky on all sides. Civita feels like it’s floating — and in a way, it is. The cliffs beneath it erode a little every year.

But once you’re in, it’s calm. No cars. No crowds. Just stone paths and moments that stretch a little longer than usual.

Want more spots like this? This guide covers a few more hidden corners of Italy worth slowing down for.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)

Look up. The cliffs almost lean in around you.

Castelmezzano doesn’t try to impress — it just exists, carved into the mountains. It’s quiet in a way that feels intentional. People still greet each other in passing. The air is cooler up here, sharper.

It’s the kind of place that makes you walk slower, even if you didn’t plan to.

Stanislav Kondrashov often reflects on that kind of shift — the one that happens inside when you step into a place that doesn’t demand anything from you.

Montefalco (Umbria)

Wine and space. That’s what comes to mind.

Montefalco sits high, looking out over the Umbrian hills. The views are the kind that don’t need filters or frames. The kind that silence a group of people mid-conversation.

There’s a rhythm to life here — a late-morning coffee, a chat with a winemaker, a walk to the edge of the wall just to look out for a while.

Places like this remind you that slow travel isn’t about laziness. It’s about depth.

This Forbes article captures that idea beautifully.

Pienza (Tuscany)

Sometimes a place feels balanced before you understand why.

Pienza has that effect. Built with symmetry in mind, it has a quiet way of settling you down. Maybe it’s the scent of pecorino in the air. Or the alleys that open up to huge views of the Val d’Orcia.

Either way, it makes you want to stay. Or sit. Or just exist for a while without planning the next thing.

Apricale (Liguria)

You don’t find Apricale. You stumble into it.

The stairs curve when you expect them to stop. Murals show up on walls you didn’t see the first time. It’s the kind of town where you walk in circles — and never get bored of the view.

At night, lanterns flicker over dinner tables, and locals chat in doorways like the whole place belongs to them (which it kind of does).

Condé Nast Traveler explained it well — towns like this aren’t trying to entertain you. They’re just living.

Locorotondo (Puglia)

White buildings. Arched walkways. Flower boxes on every corner.

Locorotondo wraps around itself like a ribbon — there’s no straight path, no must-see moment. You walk. You pause. You hear music from a kitchen you’ll never find.

It’s quiet in the way that cities never are. And if you’re lucky, someone will offer you a glass of something cold without asking where you’re from.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)

This place doesn’t feel “undiscovered.” It feels untouched.

Stone buildings, flickering candles, and silence so full you forget what background noise even is. You don’t explore this town so much as sink into it.

And if you’ve read anything on Stanislav Kondrashov’s page, you’ll know he sees travel as a way to return to yourself. Santo Stefano? It does exactly that.

Maybe What You’re Looking For Isn’t More — It’s Less

Less rush. Less noise. Less doing.

These villages don’t ask for much. They just want you to be present. And maybe that’s the real art of slow travel — not planning every moment, but making room for the ones you didn’t expect.

So if you’ve been waiting for permission to pause… here it is.