Is there an Off season in Italy???

Here's a chart I find fascinating. Note that it's for the entire country:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/654523/number-of-monthly-arrivals-short-stay-accommodation-in-italy/

Since that link isn't working for many, here's a summary:
Peak tourism is August. It plummets from there down to the lowest point in November. It stays in a low trough until March when it trends back up again. That makes the off-season from November thru March.

We were in Rome in mid to late October last year and it was busy but not crowded like grid lock. We enjoyed walking around the city.
There were security lines for St. Peter’s but they moved along quickly. We walked right into The Forum, no lines. We heard that the Vatican Museum was very packed, overcrowded and quite uncomfortable to be in. We had been there before so didn't visit it.

We were in Italy for most of October 2 years ago. We still found it very crowded, with lots of tour groups.

Sure there is an off season. But it's shrinking. The old shoulder seasons don't really apply any more.

Can't read Michael's chart due to signing up for some premium service--uh, no--but the accompanying paragraph stated a 15% increase in visitors in June 2017 from June 2016. Does that mean an overall increase monthly over the course of a year, or maybe just in high season? Inquiring minds wanna know...

If I had to guess, though--I would say that high & shoulder seasons show increases, while low season (November through March) did not. To answer the OP's question, I think what they will experience in mid-October will be crowds at the main attractions in all urban areas, but more on the weekends. And as you progress towards mid-November, you should see a marked difference and will learn what we have--the beauty & chill-ness of Italian travel off-season.

I think in a lot of Italy, October is still considered on the high season side and many travelers are still out and about. I went to Italy in the Autumn too, and it was still very warm and balmy.

My experience for a later time of year -

When I went to Rome two times, it was in December. It was a comfortable crowd at some of the major attractions. Future trips to Rome will most likely be in December too. The weather was quite pleasant - first year had a brisk weather atmosphere; windy but not too crazy. It rained a bit the morning I visited The Vatican. Thereafter, "perfect."

Second year, there was an increase in temp - a couple of days saw 70 degrees. One day it rained a little and turned muggy. People carrying their coats, etc. At night, it went down to "near normal temps." The rest of the days were beautiful.

Regarding St. Peter's - Most of the time, when I went, there was no wait - walked right up to the security center, and in I went. There was a time or two it seemed I had the whole Basilica to myself. A fraction of the people compared to high season I am sure.

Still, Rome had its moments then.

December 8 (A National Holiday) and December 12 (A celebration Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe) are two important dates in Rome. Both were quite crowded; falling on or near a weekend.

On December 8th, the Feast of The Immaculate Conception is celebrated first at St. Peter's Piazza - Pope Francis gives his Blessing, hops into his Pope mobile and heads down to Piazza di Spagna (just as crowded) for the celebration and prayers to honor Mary.

Pope Francis lays a laurel wreath at the foot of the column with prayers. (December 8th is the official start to the Christmas season - The Nativity and Tree is up at Piazza di San Pietro.

If a person is closer to the Spanish Steps, they would need to be at Piazza di Spagna very early to get in the front row. So, a choice would need to be made - either at St. Peter's or Piazza di Spagna to see the Pope.

If you ever visit and get to see him, he is of a gentle spirit; has a shining aura about him. Of course he has his security detail with him. But, he has stopped to bless a child; make a sign of the Cross to the crowd. He prefers to not have his hand kissed. A big no no with him.

I can't speak to your mid-October time frame, but I think December is off season.

We were there just before Christmas two years ago. There was no line at the Uffizi. There were plenty of tourists in Florence, but it wasn't crowded. Siena was pretty calm, with no line at the Duomo. San Gimignano was moderately busy, but Volterra was calm. We had Radda all to ourselves one morning.

We were the only guests for almost the entire week at Castillo di Verrazzano. We ate twice at La Cantina and we were the only non locals there. The owner sat and visited with us and we had a great time!

I think the old paradigm of High Season (June-August), Shoulder season (April/May and September/October) and low season has broken down. It could almost be broken into Crowded and really crowded, but I think organized tours and more independent travelers are taking advantage of former "off-times" for cost, evening out the peaks and valleys.

Been awhile since I have been to Italy, but in Paris a couple weeks ago, I expected big crowds, and there were, but most every museum/site I went into (Army Museum, the Orsay, the Orangerie, St. Chapelle) I pretty much walked right into, only a slight delay for security, I was surprised.

I gues I would expect crowds, maybe time your entries to take advantage of slack times, but you may not notice terrible crowds.

There is certainly off season in Italy....just not the few cities you appear to be interested in. Lakes, mountains, coasts are going to be much less crowded. I would even hazard a guess the cities in the Veneto would be reasonably off season.

November is low season once you have got over the All Saints long weekend...

Based on another recent thread, are you referring to Insect Repellent Off?

Other than ski locations, November through March is pretty quiet except for Christmas (a week or two) and Easter week if that falls in March.

We have gone in Feb./March/April several times in the country and cities and it was great every time. Just need an extra layer of clothing (jacket/sweater)

I did a Rome-Orvieto-Siena-Florence itinerary in late October-early November 2016. November 1 is All Saints Day in Italy and Rome was mobbed with Italian tourists. It was manageable though. The Vatican Museums are almost always overwhelmed as far as I can tell, experienced this in 2016 and on my previous visit in April 2007. On the plus side, on my 2016 trip Orvieto was not crowded at all, nor was Florence. You still should book major sight like the Uffizi ahead though. Siena was a bit crowded but not too much. On my recent Venice-Ravenna-Padua-Bolzano-Verona-Milan trip (trip report), Venice and Milan were crowded but it was totally manageable. I was worried what Venice would be like. Certainly St. Mark’s Square to the Rialto Bridge was a zoo much of the time. The vapaotetti were often shoulder to shoulder. In Milan the Duomo square and Galleria Emanuelle mall were mobbed. Outside of that, not bad at all. On the other stops, any crowding was emphatically not an issue at all. Be aware that fall can bring flooding to Venice, so off-season travel there can be risky.

Paul wrote: "I think the old paradigm of High Season (June-August), Shoulder season (April/May and September/October) and low season has broken down. It could almost be broken into Crowded and really crowded, but I think organized tours and more independent travelers are taking advantage of former "off-times" for cost, evening out the peaks and valleys."

You would think that, Paul. Yet...not so much. Only speaking personally, in my sphere of family, friends & colleagues that have traveled to Italy the past few years (either independently or with a tour), almost all of them do it between June & August. Yes, I get the school & vacation constraints, and bully to them for even going at all. They come back, say how much they enjoyed it, mostly speaking of the attractions. I'm happy for them, mostly because they ain't like me, who can find a dark space in almost any situation!

But it has me scratching my head. I suppose one can travel at that time enjoyably, but it's assumed that first-timers will flock to the big three of Venice, Florence & Rome, and with the possible exception of Rome--which absorbs tourists well to my way of thinking--that trip will be spent in queues & crowds with thousands upon thousands of their 'closest friends', No way can you get the real flavor or experience any type of assimilation in that environment.

This is not to deride folks who read this forum that have to (or want to) travel to Italy in high season--each to his/her own. It's just not what I would like. We've done October once, and Feb/March twice. Thinking April next year, but it would be down the Adriatic Coast from Venice to Lecce--an undiscovered part of Italy if that exists--so I don't think I'll be flying too close to the sun tourist-wise. It's simply the way I roll...

thanks all.....We have only a bit of time planned for cities in our 30 days in Italy (well also a 2 day side trip to Slovenia).....5 days in Rome, 4 in Venice and 2 in Milan and 2 in Florence. The rest will be driving in the countryside as we prefer smaller towns in general.

We will be in Rome last so Mid- November and was hoping it would mean slightly less time in lines.

Thanks all for the info. Very informative. Thank you all.

For those who couldn't access that graph, here's a summary:

Peak tourism is August. It plummets from there down to the lowest point in November. It stays in a low trough until March when it trends back up again. That makes the off-season from November thru March. Science!