Going in April... what to pack (for men and women)

Short-sleeve t-shirt, long sleeve regular shirt with rollable sleeves (columbia, etc), unlined goretex jacket. Add light weight fleece to go under goretex if you'r going to the higher elevations in Tuscany. Mix/layer as necessary.

Also, see Rick Steves packing list. It is pretty good - nothing like packing light. Did not think I could do it. After my first trip to Italy and checked luggage, I was convinced my next trip would be lighter. I followed Rick's list for women - it really worked. It was nice to carry on this time. I also changed my luggage to a Sub Zero carry-on. The 21 in. weighs a little over 4 lbs. When I finished packing, my final weight was just under 18 lbs. It was great.

Dress in layers because you could run into rain or cool weather in April. Definitely take an umbrella & light-weight rain coat or jacket. My husband wore jeans & polo shirts pretty much every day & I wore cropped docker-style pants, a nice top & a light-weight sweater. Definitely take a comfortable pair of walking shoes or tennis shoes. I take 2 pairs of shoes so that I can switch off. If you plan to eat at fancy restaurants, you might want to take a nicer outfit but we found it to be pretty casual at all the places we visited including restaurants, but we didn't eat at super expensive places. Plan to wear each outfit 2-3 times. If you're going to be in the same hotel for more than a day, you can take detergent & wash undergarments in the sink & hang them to dry. I took a few skirt hangers for this purpose. Have a great trip.

Here's what I pack:

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=203861

It's built for that time of year but for North of the Alps.

You can pack a bit lighter than this for Italy - possibly only one sweater and a jacket that leans a little more toward fashion than function.

Thank you, everyone! Happy holidays!