Air conditioning question

Are those your choices? Early Sept or October? If so, I'd choose October.

It's not just for heat at night but heat during the day while touring. The last time I visited in late Sept to mid-Oct and by the end of hte trip things were closing in Northern Italy (Orta San Giulio) but the temps were very comfortable to me. We did encounter some rain but have had rain every time I've gone to Italy so I just pack a rain jacket and go forth, lol.

The visits I've made in early September it was so hot (to me) during the day that it was difficult to manage. I am not heat tolerant. That visit was the 1st week of September. The stones in the ruin areas (like Colosseum and Forum) seem to retain heat to me. That may be made up because I don't like heat, lol!!

Precisely where are you going? I'm sure it typically cools off earlier in Venice than in Sicily. In addition, I believe the mandated date for turning off a/c probably varies by region.

When making decisions about whether I dare risk a non-air-conditioned hotel room, I go to the timeanddate.com website and look at several years' worth of actual, day-by-day, historical weather statistics. I don't find monthly averages very helpful for that purpose.

They turn off the AC because in October there is no need to keep it on. Schools are open all over Europe and people is back to work, Early October is the second best period to visit Italy (after the middle weeks of April). Imho, of course.

I have to agree with Pam (of course, depending on where you're going). We were in Rome in early September one year and nearly died from the heat.

Well, now I know that if I want to go somewhere cool in the summer, it needs to be Idaho!

We are going to Venice, Florence, Rome in that order. We would be there 9/30 on for 9 nights. Good to know it’s miserable hit the beginning of September.

Acraven, thanks for that link!

“Well, now I know that if I want to go somewhere cool in the summer, it needs to be Idaho!”

Come on out (when it’s safe to do so). Although it got to 89 today, this AM was so cold I had to put on a LS thermal until mid-morning. Had the fireplace on for an hour or so one day last week, lol.

Lulu, that time frame sounds good. Do have a rain layer.

I usually spend much of May in Italy. (Except this year.) I have learned the days they turn the A/C on differs depending on where I am and not the temperature. There have been a few hot, uncomfortable days and nights in my room.

So, I carry a small fan with me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R2BBZ2B/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A3RJNQO8PQ21MT&psc=1

It fits in the palm of my hand but don't let the size fool you. While it won't cool an entire room, it will keep me cool especially while sleeping. It has saved many a night by allowing me to sleep comfortably.

Our 2nd trip to Italy was the last 2 weeks of Sept-----weather was beautiful. Jackets not needed except for the Amalfi Coast. No rain

Our last trip was Later in Oct---maybe we left the 17th--- for several weeks. Again no rain but light jackets required in the morning and evening. Still lovely weather. We did not need air conditioning. I know we lucked out on both trips to have missed rain but you never know.

I usually go mid-Sept to early Oct - one year we went the first few weeks of Sept and in Rome at least a few of our days if we were nearby to our room in the afternoon, we'd go back for a few hours to rest during the heat of the day. One year we were in Florence around the 3rd week of Sept and I was wearing a tank top and skirt and sweating, while the locals were wearing long sleeved coats and dressy (but still hot in my mind) scarves wrapped around their necks. Last year in Verona the last week of Sept I thought I was gonna melt.

But it depends on your heat tolerance - I find once it starts inching over 25C here at home I get hot and cranky. But at least at home I can stay inside instead of trying to be out looking at the sights while melting.

We are going to Venice, Florence, Rome in that order. We would be
there 9/30 on for 9 nights

That time period looks good to me too. We were in Rome and the Sorrentine area in early October some years ago, and were plenty warm during the day but not so hot that sightseeing was painfully uncomfortable. As that's key to a great trip, Oct. is the better choice. You won't be headed south of Rome, and it cooled off nicely in the evenings there, as I recall, so you should be just fine.

We were in Rome, Florence, Naples and Lucca early last September, and it was so hot and humid I couldn't bear it.
Every stay was air conditioned, but out and about during the day all I could think of was getting back into a cool shower.
I figured I had 42 showers in two weeks.

Go in October.

Check with your hotels. You said they turn the a/c off in October? A specific hotel? Or region? Our hotel in Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta turned the A/C off the first week of September and there was a very bad heat wave. They would not turn it back on and we were all miserable and couldn’t wait to leave. The owners were so rude too.
Where are you going in Italy? We found mid to late October perfect for Puglia and Sicily. We were very hot in Rome the later part of September but it was perfect in mid October. Adjust the dates according to the locations.

Please note acraven's statement about the mandated date for turning off a/c. In Italy, there are regulations about when heating and air conditioning may and may not be active in hotels - and this does vary by region.

2 out of 3 hotels have gotten back to me. One in Rome said that heating is legally mandated, not air conditioning. They leave theirs on through September, nit sure about October (didn’t answer, so thinking the answer is no). One in Venice turns theirs off September 15th. I’m trying to find out if they have screens. Waiting to hear from the one in Florence.

don't expect screens - they are very rare

I've spent over 600 nights in Europe (in 16 countries) since May 2015 and have yet to see a screen.

We don't have as many nights under the belt as acraven and Nigel but have yet to see a screen either. That's only been an issue once (mosquitoes in Florence, mid-late May.)

I love going to Italy (Northern Italy-to- Rome) in late August & early September. But, I’m more interested in avoiding rain than heat because we used to live in Seattle.

Agree with others that you probably won’t have any screens on the windows. Mosquitoes love me, and I don’t remember issues with bites during the trips to Italy.

Have you determined that your hotels, in fact, HAVE air conditioning in season? If they do, I'd warn you that it's not likely to be engineered to maintain the meat-locker temperatures that American clients demand of the HVAC contractors. As noted, the itinerary makes a big difference. Note that some attractions (like gardens in the Lake district) are also seasonal. And other attractions may have shorter hours (assuming they have reopened post-Covid closures.)

October in central Italy is wonderful. We have visited Italy in July and stayed in a B&B in Rome with no AC, but they had fans and we did just fine.
Of course, I am from Georgia in the USA and we are used to the heat. During HS, we lived in a house with no heat and it didn't seems so bad.

This is not totally about Italy, but I have seen window screens in Europe.

I stayed in a B&B in Amsterdam that had them. The combo of using them with the fans provided was fine in June of 2018. I was surprised because they were wood-framed, removable and very similar to the ones we used in our 1927 non-air conditioned, non-screened house near Tacoma WA. This is the type I'm talking about. I haven't seen them in Italy, but perhaps someone else has.

I'm another person not particularly bothered by the heat. I grew up in houses in San Antonio without AC. I went to schools without it from 1st through 12th grade. Most of the buildings on the UT Austin campus were air conditioned. But, except for one summer in Austin, none of the places I lived during those 4 years had AC.

We definitely have air conditioning where we live near Tucson. We also have ceiling fans in every room. I like to keep the thermostat at 77 and often wear a light fleece at that temperature. My Tacoma native husband turns it down to 75. I turn it back up. He rarely notices the difference unless he checks the setting.

He and I were in Venice, Rome, Sicily, Sorrento and Genoa mid-September to early October of 2009. I don't remember it being particularly hot anywhere we visited or stayed. Except for the B&B in Venice that only had fans, every lodging was cool enough for us. I'd expect that things would be even better now and in the future.

The one place I've stayed in Italy where I was a bit hot was the 1st hotel (in Padua) on the Village Italy tour in June 2017. The AC in my room simply did not work and there was no fan. The owner tried to fix it to no avail. No one else seemed to have a problem. I chalked it up to my turn in the barrel for "Sleep with ... no (or weak) air conditioning."

Usually turning on and off heating or cooling is defined by the Regions in Italy. As far as I know the law says when turn on the heating, but there aren't laws about air conditioner, so anybody can do what prefers. Of course in other Regions could be different, so I am not sure.
In general almost nobody in Italy believe that the temperature is so high to keep air conditioner on at the end of September or October. For this reason usually you find air conditioner off in October. The temperature rarely arrives at 30°C in October.
About screens I am agree that are not so common in hotels in Italy (except some wet areas...). Instead are very used in houses. So maybe you can find them more easily in B&B.

At our airbnb in Manosque (south of France) in 2018 - lo and behold - window screens! Yes, the windows had shutters and opened out, but the window screens were on rollers and hooked into the bottom of a track - ingenious. We could keep the windows open on those hot July nights and not worry about bugs.

A little like this, but the screens were on the inside of the window frame... https://www.europeanwindows.ca/window-and-door-screens.html

I know my sister in the UK wishes she had these...

Frank II
Thanks for posting your small fan recommendation! I bought one and it looks like it will really do the trick. Smaller, lighter, and a stronger air flow than a previous fan I found pretty useless.