Amalfi Coast January/February

Nothing will be significantly "warmer." Rome is actually not bad in Jan and Feb (although not Hawaii!). Sicily might be a little better, especially the eastern side. Dress in layers, good raincoat, gloves, scarf, hat and make the most of it. Some days will be 60 and sunny, others 45 and rainy. The latter are good museum days. :-) Assisi in the winter is nice: no crowds! Oh, and much of the AC, especially Sorrento, will be closed. After New Years' a lot of restaurants and hotels take a break before the spring onslaught begins.

I was in Sorrento in mid-February last year. All the shops and restaurants were open. The only things that were closed were the "foreigners' club" and the elevator down to the seashore. Everything in Rome was open, just not overly crowded. Florence was lively, lots of foreign students around along with other tourists. It was my second visit to Italy in February. Great time to go, just take some warm clothes and a good rain poncho.

Definitely bring clothes that will keep you warm. I was in Italy (Rome and Venice) in February a few years ago. It's not really warm at all unless the sun is shining bright. You'll see lots of older women in Rome walking in there fur coats. Bring an umbrella too.