Italy Weather in June and July

[tinytherese]

In late June and early July, my mom and I won a raffle trip to Italy. We'll  travel with other pilgrims to Vatican City, Rome, Perugia, and Orvieto. I've been told how awful the heat and humidity are during that time of year. How do you recommend we cope?

[Ancilla Domini]

Stylish hats, light-colored clothing, lots of water, and gelato. There's no real solution - you just have to do your best with what you have. There is literally no comfortable way to get through a visit to the Colosseum - just remember to bring lots of water. The churches are always very cool, so church-hopping is pretty nice (and I'm sure you'll be doing a lot of that.) In fact, some of the churches can be positively cold, so despite the heat, I walk around with a shawl (that's also for the no-sleeveless-shirts rule, though.). Hope I helped!

Edited May 4, 2015 by Ancilla Domini

[Luigi]

Hot, hot, hot.

In the old towns, the buildings are stone exteriors, close together, and on narrow stone streets. Therefore, there's usually some shade available, and the stony-shaded areas stay reasonably cool.

Interiors (like in a hotel) can also be reasonably cool, especially if you open a window on the shady side of the building and get a breeze coming through.

Many hotels have air conditioning, but electricity is so expensive over there that they're loathe to turn it on. Therefore, they might tell you that the AC is broken today (happened to me more than once!). If they do have AC is on, it won't be cranked up the way we do in the States, but it's manageable.

 

I LOVE Orvieto! If you buy the ticket to go through the Duomo and the Duomo Museum, BE SURE to go the off-site location. There's an unused church at the far end of the old walled city - it's a small museum now. It has slightly-larger-than-life-sized statues of the twelve apostles, St. Roch, and some other saint that I can't remember. But the centerpiece sculptures, down where the sanctuary used to be, is a two-piece Annunciation by Mochi. It's considered the first work of Baroque sculpture. It's one of the few pieces of art that actually moves me.

Here's the angel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Mochi#/media/File:Annonciation_(Ange)_de_Francesco_Mochi.jpg

Here's Mary: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/286752701248009310/

[hoosieranna]

You might consider getting some good quality sandals.  They'd keep your feet cooler and be handy on the cobblestone streets than run everywhere in Italy.  A lot of the pavement can be really uneven, because the streets are 500 years old.  Siena was much more comfortable than Perugia because my feet were happy.  I'd say stick with leather, maybe quarter strap so they're stylish and you don't stick out so blatantly as a tourist.  Italian women are extremely stylish.  So, no hippy style Birkies or Tevas.  Born and Clarks are generally fashionable and very comfortable.  Other brands too if you prefer them.

I second gelato.  It's hard to go wrong with chocolate gelato and nice khaki capris.

Edited May 5, 2015 by hoosieranna