Italy - Narrow Staircases/Passageways & Plus-Size/Large People

Yes, there are narrow passages in all the places you mention (underground colosseum, catacombs, Duomo), but I don't know how big is your definition of big. One more thing, if by big you mean also super-obese, there is also the issue of stamina of climbing the cupola in Florence.

The underground level at the Colosseum, as far as they let you go, is very open. All the steps at the Colosseum are wide enough, just steep. Even the catacombs of St Calixtus out on the Appian Way are wide enough. The steps up to the cupola at St Peter's are tight and curving. (Even as a skinny college student they were too claustrophobic for me.) The Scavi tour under St Peter's has some tight hallways, but since they only take 12 people at a time, they are probably OK. In Venice I think I remember the parts of the Doge Palace on the secret itinerary tour being somewhat narrow. The steep steps up to the upper lever of St Mark's is so worth the climb and not too many steps, just one flight of not to code steps. Enjoy your honeymoon!

There are definitely some tight spiral staircases in the towers of old European churches, though I don't know about the specific sites you mentioned. But you can probably find videos on YouTube that will help you determine whether there will be a problem.

Another possible issue is the phone-booth-sized shower stalls in many Italian hotels. You probably won't encounter them if you're staying in rather nice places, but they are common in budget-class hotels. Some of the showers are so small that I found it very difficult to bend over to pick up my soap if I dropped it. And I'm neither tall nor particularly big.

I'm pretty big and I don't give it a second thought. He might have trouble, if he's over 400 or 500 pounds, with some of the stairways and joining some of the older trains which have a vertical pole in the middle of the doorway. If he's on a spiral staircase and has to pass people somebody may have to back up to a passing point like a window or a door.

But if he is just big there should be little if any problem - except for the shower, and maybe a small bathtub.

First, congrats on the wedding. Second, I'm glad someone has brought up the issue of shower size. Many of them are add-ons, crammed into a tiny corner. Be sure to find out before booking your lodging.

Be mindful when booking hotels. I am 5'6" and 115 pounds, and I have had some showers that I could barely turn in without knocking the faucet. Beds can be an issue too. Often rooms have two single beds pushed together. I usually stay in small b&bs. If you go with large intl hotels, I assume it is better.

Thank you for the tips on the showers - I had seen some pics while 'hotel shopping', but I'll definitely add that onto the list of things to be mindful of.

All of the replies so far have been super helpful - so keep 'em coming! And many, many thanks!

another consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet...airline seats. Seats in coach these days are pretty uncomfortable for even small folks. You should consider splurging for seats in business class - yeah, spendy, but worth it.

We have booked 2 coach seats for him - which, for future reference for anyone else checking out this thread later, is very difficult and needs to be done over the phone. Also, you will need to make sure the flights are all operated by the same company, since most airlines don't allow extra seats crossing business agreements.

Laura, as you are searching hotels you might consider booking a handicapped accessible room. They usually have larger showers so as to accommodate wheelchairs. We have had many of those Phone Booth type showers when traveling in Europe, and they have sometimes been in fairly expensive hotels. I have found that you normally receive excellent information/ accommodations that meet your specific needs if you email the hotels directly for booking. I hope your honeymoon is magical!

We also did the campanile in Florence instead of the duomo climb...because...well, if you're standing on top of the duomo, you can't admire it as well! And it was nice to be able to stop on each floor to catch our breath and admire the views.

Tom is correct, the staircase inside Saint Peter's basilica is one-way, and the last part is very confining. You can take an elevator to the roof, and get similar views/perspectives from there.

I am 6 foot 2 and 280 lbs. I had no issues with tight passageways in any of the noted sights.

I did have issues with several of the showers in the hotels. In one the water actually could not get down past my mid section and made for some fun washing since I was like a stopper in a bottle. .