Italian Weather

Italian Weather

 

Like most of Western Europe, spring and autumn are the best times to visit and travel around Italy.

 

The moderating influence of the Mediterranean sea, with its warm waters, and the Alps, which form a barrier against the cold northern winds, help to soften the climate. Nevertheless, the weather varies considerably according to how far one is from the sea or the mountains.

 

The winter is very cold in the Alps, cold and foggy in the Po Plain and the central Apennines; mild and even warm on the Ligurian coast, the Neapolitan coast and in Sicily.

 

Summer is Italy's peak season when the country is at its busiest. Many shops and restaurants close in late August when their owners go on holiday. Easter, Christmas, and other religious holidays are busy times for Italy and the larger cities and towns tend to put up their prices during these occasions. Summer is hot and dry, but the temperature is mitigated on the coast by sea breezes and in the Apennines and Alps it is pleasantly cool. In mountain areas, winter is ideal for skiing, and summer for excursions, hiking, etc.
 

Seaside and lake resorts, with their excellent hotel facilities, have an intense tourist season during the summer, while the cities that are rich in art treasures, like Siena, Florence, San Gimignano, Perugia, Orvieto, Todi, Assisi and many more attract visitors in spring and autumn. In any case a trip to Italy is pleasant at any time of the year.

 

Northern Italy (Milan, Bologna, Verona and Venice) looks totally stunning in spring, its winters are mild and occasionally very foggy, and its hot, dry and humid summers are tempered by sea breezes. In winter in Venice (in Northern Italy) a mist often descends and hovers over the city creating an atmosphere of mystery and suspense.

 

Southern Italy has warm, dry weather with far fewer crowds in September. It has a typical Mediterranean climate, which is almost always sunnier than northern Italy. July and August can be unpleasantly hot and humid. But there is always relief to be found in the mountains, in the coastal areas and in the forests.

 

The best months to visit the cities of Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Verona, Bologna, Naples and the Amalfi Coast (in Southern Italy) are October or April. The most crowded periods are Easter, May and June, September and Christmas. July and August have become less crowded in recent years, but the summer can be fun but also uncomfortably hot.