clothing guidelines for church and religous sites?!?

linen capri pants are the way to go!

Shorts are prohibited in houses of worship.

Hi Sarah. This topic has been beaten to death around here. You'll get all sorts of opinions. However, at the major Churches shorts are not allowed. Or short skirts. Your knees must be covered. This is strictly enforced at the Vatican, St. Mark' in Venice and some others. Virtually all churches have signs indicating that shorts are not permitted, although some people choose to ignore this and are often not prevented from entering. Shorts are very common for outdoor sites such as the Forum etc, and in the more rural areas (Tuscany, Cinque Terre etc). It's going to be hot so I would definitely bring shorts, but they can't be worn on certain days. Have fun...

In Italy, many of the churches are tourist sites as well. As with all churches, worshippers are most welcome. However, in Italy, there is an unwritten dress code. I would not wear shorts, flip-flops or other such casual wear in most Italian churches-especially the rural ones. Many churches have people at the entrance to block entry to tourists during religious services. This happened to us in San Gimignano.

Sarah: Do the churches in Boston welcome women in shorts?

Norma, that is not relevent. The Churches here in my home town, including the Catholic ones, DO welcome anyone, shorts or not.
Italy is different, and note, you MAY wear shorts in the Catholic churches in France , at least the ones I have been in. .

I would hope that anyone had some class though, no tube tops or short shorts( Daisy Dukes),, but taste is so subjective, sigh.

Anyways Sarah,, cover the knees and the shoulders, I am bring capris for Rome and a couple really "floaty " skirts,, it will be hot so those type of skirts are nice and cool anyways, we are luckier then the men in that respect!

I also had an issue at a church in Florence when I was wearing short sleeves that didn't cover my upper arms. A very nice nun asked me to cover up. I had forgotten, as it was never an issue anywhere else. I kept a shawl in my backpack for such occasions and simply put it on.

Mary, can you elaborate? How far down the arm do they want the short sleeves to go? Thanks!

Yes, how long do sleeves have to be? I assumed it was only short sleeves, not elbow length???

During the summer heat in Italy it's actually not a bad idea to cover your shoulders whether you're going into a church or not. It's the easiest protection against a sun burn on the most vulnerable area of your body. I've had second degree burns from the sun on my shoulders once and don't wish that on anyone.

I wore a skirt pretty much every single day. Mine has an elastic waistband that I can roll up when I'd like a shorter skirt and pull down when I enter a church. Hubby wore his shorts every day except for the Vatican. They are a bit longer but stop just before they reach the knee. He had no problem entering other churches which might be just luck.

Because it's a WRITTEN rule, not an "unwritten" one: the signs are posted in front of all the touristy churches.

It seemed that the concern was more for shoulders (no tank tops spaghetti straps) than for shorts. My husband wore long shorts in several churches that posted dress code signs. At St. Peter's, long shorts and skirts were OK (to the knee), short shorts and skirts along with tank tops were out. In spite of all the posts about wearing long pants. It's very hot, and not much in air conditioned. Lots of people are wearing shorts and sport sandals. I wore capris, and could roll them up shorter on the really hot days.

Sarah, you may already be in Italy by the time I post this, but I wanted to also add that shorts are not allowed in many classical music & opera venues as well. Many of us like to cap-off a day of travelling with such an event, so it's good to know in advance. (They may even to refuse to sell you a ticket if you are wearing shorts.)

We visited St. Peter's (Rome) in late June and St. Mark's (Venice) yesterday, and shorts just below the knee were just fine and frequently worn. As others have said, they seem more concerned about shoulders being covered than long pants.

I was at the Vatican/St. Peters this morning and they made the ladies cover their shoulders but I cant believe how many people ,men and women, were wearing shorts ! At least 300 people give or take a few, wearing shorts, and these were not at the knee shorts. Go figure.