We are taking the Rick Steves 17 day Italy tour, can I expect hair blow dryers in Hotels, or bring one?
every hotel I've stayed in in Europe all have had hairdryers, this includes the 2 hotels I stayed in on a RS tour. You should be fine, but if in doubt you can always contact his office and verify.
I go on a Rick Steves tour almost every year and for the past several years - there have been hairdryers in all the rooms. (not really powerful, but they work.)
I have found that if there is not a dryer in the room, you can always ask at the front desk and they always have them. I found this when traveling all over England and Belgium.
I would venture a guess that most hotels and inns have them.
Every place I've stayed in Italy has had a hair dreyer. Don't bring your own as hair dreyers frequently flip the circuit breaker - even with a converter. That's the reason why hotels supply them, they don't want to bringing your own and causing a temporary blackout.
We traveled through Italy for 3 weeks and never stayed in a hotel without a dryer. It is nice to have that extra space.