Italy in August

It is all relative. And depends a little bit on where you go. Southern Italy, Rome, etc. will be hot and humid. The humidity probably is the worse part. And it will be crowded as you will have lots of company. The best way to handle it is to good early, stay late and take a nap during the heat of the day. Just plan you activities so that you are inside most of the PM when it is the hottest.

Kristen, There are never any guarantees with the weather, but it will most likely be HOT in Italy in August, as well as very crowded. It would definitely recommend pre-booking accommodations long in advance. I was in Italy in late September and found that even at that time of year, air conditioning was essential. At times I used the method suggested by Frank, and arranged my touring schedule so that I was back in my comfortable room in the late afternoon. That was a good time to get laundry and other chores done, as well as check E-mail, etc. Another point to keep in mind is that many Italians take their holidays in August, so some businesses may be closed. That will also add to the crowd situation. I'd suggest having a look at the Italy Guidebook, as the hotel listings include information on which ones have air conditioning. Happy travels!

More than likely it will be hot, you can look at weather.com for monthly averages in major cities. As others have posted many Italians take their vacations in August so some things could be closed.
It really depends on where in Italy you plan to go and how heat sensitive you are.

Italy in August is better than no Italy at all! We have been to Florence, Bolzano, Verona and the Dolomites in August. And to Florence, Verona, Cinque Terre, and Lago di Como in June. It was not much hotter in August than it was in June, if at all. but of course that can vary year to year. I would suggest you focus on the more northern areas, say from Siena north, including one or more lakes and a bit of coastal time. Try to get A/C wherever you can. As for it being unbearably hot to walk around, we did not find it so, even in Florence which was the hottest place we went both times. It was still OK, and we do a LOT of walking (like up to San Miniato al Monte at mid-day). You can always hop from patch of shade to patch of shade, duck into an air-conditioned bar for a cool beverage, and spend time in museums. The summer evenings are lovely for strolling and outside dining. Linger and enjoy.

Lola is right about Florence. It is in a bowl and the heat just seems to get stuck there once it gets in. I've been there earlier in the year when it has been really HOT and would expect August to be just that bit hotter. I have no idea where Hamden is so I can't make a comparison.

Both my visits to Rome were in summer, once in late July, and once in late August.. both times were insanely hot( mind you I am not used to alot of heat so feel heat easily).
We would go to the water carts near the tourist sites in the morning and buy the bottles of water that were frozen,, and I would put that up to my neck to cool down,, of course it melted in an hour or so,, then drink it and get another,, did that alot. A/C is not optiopnal ,, there is nothing worse then being hot all day and having no cool retreat. Would I go again in summer, yes, simply put if thats when you can go, then go,, its still amazing.

I'll just add that one place in Northern Italy I would NOT go in August is Venice. We love it there, but I won't go in the summer.

Kristen, One additional comment on the temperatures..... When I was in Italy in September this year (Rome, Cinque Terre, Lucca), there wasn't any appreciable difference in temperatures between the three areas. It was HOT in all of them! One exception to the heat was a late afternoon "downpour" in Lucca, which was severe. I can't recall ever experiencing rainfall that heavy. Even my venerable Rick Steves Umbrella provided little protection, as the rain seemed to be moving "sideways". The "bottom line" - it will probably be hot, but allow for rain also. Cheers!

Kristen - our trips to Italy have all been in the summer (so the kids could go as well). It is by no means unbearable but there are some easy ways to make it better: As posters above said - get out EARLY for big sites (St. Peters, Colosseum). You will beat the crowds and the heat. Bring a refillable water bottle. Head back to your Air-Conditioned hotel (at least in the big cities, Rome for sure), after lunch and rest, read, relax until late afternoon. Get back out, maybe see one more thing and then have a late dinner - 7:30 at the absolute earliest. It cools down quite a bit in the evening - I even had to buy a shawl in Trastevere as I was wearing a very light summer dress. For clothes - I like to wear summer dresses and skirts - I find them much cooler than pants or capris (they catch the breeze). If I l wear a sleeveless shirt I bring a large scarf/shawl to cover my shoulders so that I can enter the churches. My husband wears light cotton button down shirts - again, they can be much cooler than a tee shirt. If visiting churches he wore very light pants, if no churches then he wore shorts. Note that you will BOTH need to have knees and shoulders covered to enter Italian churches. We love Italy - hot or not. You'll have a great time.

Thank you for all of the wonderful recommendations! You have all been a huge help....and are making me very excited for our summer vacation.

I have been in Europe numerous times in the summer. Turkey (mid July low 80s) Greece (90s) Italy (mid 90s) and while the afternoons can be really hot do as the others have suggested and plan to hang out inside during that time. What I do love about the summer travel (not the crowds) are the long days and the beautiful evenings once the sun does down. While in Italy during the hot summer we went to CT, Rome, Venice and Florence and although it was hot I would rather be there than home.

We have visited Verona in August for the last 2 years. The first year it was very hot, but there was a heatwave nationwide. However, it was no worse than being in the central US (eg Ohio) in August. And the pace is slower. You can sit and enjoy a cool drink in a cafe for as long as you like, nobody hassles you to leave. We stayed in an apartment hotel with air conditioning and that gave us enough relief. Enjoy!

There is a clear "divided" in August: the Ferragosto holiday (Aug 15th), which is the peak of the peak season, to say so. It if falls on a Tuesday or Thrusday, people will often just skipt Monday or Friday and make it a big 4-day holiday. Those days around Ferragosto are really crowded. After Ferragosto, things start to go slowly down. I have lived in Italy (I'm half Italian) and I don't find August weather to be the worse, because it rains a bit and the sunlight is like 1h-1h30 less than in late June. The worse weather, IMO, are late-Spring heat waves that sometimes hit the country between May and July, with air completely standstill and insanely hot temperatures (105F not uncommon) in the mid and Northern areas. My suggestions to beat crowds, or minimize the effect of them on you: - avoid visiting big hit attractions that have queues (like Musei Vaticani, Torre Pendente etc.) on weekends or during the Ferragosto holiday, save them for weekdays - use advance reservation of tickets whenever possible to beat the lines (queuing in a flat plaza under the bright Sun is really nerve-wracking) - if you are not travelling with the "it is very famous, must clinch it" mentality, put some small towns out of the beaten path in your schedule... -... but avoid very famous small towns like San Gimignano, where crowds will be at their highest

One point to make regarding staying in Verona in August. As I recall, that's prime Opera season, so rooms can be very hard to find, and somewhat more expensive than at other times of the year. Even when booking in September, it took me some time to get a room booked.