Italy is home to some of the world's most famous art, architecture and historical landmarks and also offers a temperate climate that is ideal for tourism most months of the year.
Italy is a country of beautiful cities, scenic landscapes and a rich historical past, making it a popular tourism destination. For the most part, Italy’s weather is temperate, although it does vary depending on the city you choose to visit and the time of year you decide to take your trip.
Regions
Italy is divided into 20 regions. According to the Italian Tourism Board, these regions are Abruzzo, the Aosta Valley, Basillicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romanga, Friuli-Venezia Giullia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria and Veneto.
Cities
Italy’s Tourism board lists Italy’s most visited cities as Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, and Genoa. Rome is in the Lazio region of Italy. It is home to seven of Italy’s most famous tourist attractions including the coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Genoa, a city in the Laguria region of Italy, is a historically vibrant center for art. Its seaport allows trade and commerce. Florence is home to Renaissance art such as Michelangelo’s David and historical structures such as the Duomo. Florence is in the Tuscany region of Italy.
Venice, a city of winding streets and narrow canals, is in the Veneto region of Italy. Like all Italian cities, Venice is home to historically significant buildings and pieces of art, but is also known for being a beautiful city to stroll or take a famous gondola ride through. Milan is Italy’s fashion capital and is in the Lombardy region. Milan is home to Milan fashion week, one of the most notable fashion events in the world as well as the Teatro Alla Scala, one of the world’s most famous opera houses.
Climate
Italy’s climate is temperate, although it does vary marginally by region. The summer months are mostly warm in Italy, with some rainfall in the northern regions and humidity in the southern areas. Temperatures in Rome and Florence can reach as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August, while Venice and Genoa are kept cooler by their proximity to the water and generally do not exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Autumn temperatures average in the 70s for most of Italy’s cities, slipping into the 60s and 50s come January. In some Italian regions however, elevation and temperature are conducive to skiing and winter sports.
Tourist Season
Italy’s tourist season hits its peak in the summer, when the weather is warm. This makes for crowded cities, higher prices and less availability in hotels and boarding houses. Because the temperature in Italy’s major cities is mostly mild year round, traveling in the off seasons can be a cost cutting way of touring Italy while avoiding crowds.
Preparation
When setting out your Italian travel plans it’s best to decide which cities you will visit and the time of year you will go. If you are traveling between June and August, prepare for high midday temperatures and warm nights, and pack light summer clothing. If you are traveling to a region by the water, swimwear is appropriate as the sea is warm enough to swim in come June. Autumn and winter call for sweaters and light jackets, although if winter resorts and ski trips are in your plans, heavy jackets and snow pants are necessary.
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