Italy's Cool Spring

But this year the spring weather has been worse than it was in
January, so lots of tourists are staying home."

Not necessarily a bad thing? :O)

Time will tell if it's just the weather or also an increased awareness of crowding which is deterring overnight visits. It seems to me that in a place where reservations made well in advance are the norm, weather alone doesn't explain such a drop if it proves accurate.

I just spent several weeks in Florence and while April was quite nice, the first 3 weeks of May were quite cool. Not sure if or when the whether will improve, but I agree it might be wise to pack for cooler than normal temperatures. The alternative is to pack for usual weather and be prepared to purchase a few warmer items if needed. Chains such as OVS have decent inexpensive men's and women's clothes. Gutteridge is a slightly more expensive but not overly pricy option for men.

I was just in Italy (and Liguria) too, and everyone I talked to talked about what a cool spring it has been. I needed a light jacket sometimes but not really "layering" - I had a sweatshirt but put it on only briefly, the day I landed in Venice. It was pouring rain, and by the time the bus got to Mestre, I was shivering even with my jacket on, so I put the sweatshirt on, but I took it off after I was on a train for a few hours and never needed it again the rest of my trip.

I wasn't in Monterosso at night, but when I passed through around late afternoon it was pretty busy. Manarola just after lunch was mobbed. Riomaggiore at dusk seemed fairly busy but not mobbed. (I stayed in Levanto, which was pretty dead in the evenings.) I took the ferry boat one morning stopping at all the towns except Corniglia and it was pretty packed. I could see plenty of people on the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza in the morning - was glad not to be doing that hike again.

Thanks for this post/thread. We leave tomorrow and I’ve been watching the weather like a hawk. The cooler than normal temps definitely changed up our packing plans. I’m hoping the rain is minimal. Good to know about OVS and being able to buy a lightweight jacket if needed.

We were just in NW Italy from April 25- May 10. We included Bellagio, Stresa, Monforte d’Alba, Santa Margherita Ligure and Milan. We only had two days when it rained. Once was a transition day so we didn’t care. The other was on the Riviera. Not a single one of our hotels had yet “turned on” their AC and we needed it more than we didn’t. If it had been any warmer and we didn’t have AC, I would have been an absolute grump. And we stayed at very nice hotels....it’s just you know, AC us turned on end of May and turned off the first of October in Italy. It just is what it is.

I find it hard to believe that any of the Cinque Terre are experiencing lower tourism. While we were in Santa Margherita the Cinque Terre had its busiest day ever recorded and there weren’t even any cruise ships that day. We didn’t even bother with the CT even though it was only a 40 minute train ride from where we were on the Riviera. And we had an amazing time anyway. 😂😂

I spent a couple of days hiking in the Cinque Terre a couple of weeks ago. It was wonderful. I had already hiked the "popular" trails on past visits; the two hikes I did this time were not very crowded (Levanto to Monterosso and Manarola to Corniglia via Volastra - a difficult but rewarding hike). I rarely had to deal with many tourists. I also spent a few days up in Rapallo which was less busy and hiked up there too. I love the Riviera.

We just returned from 3 weeks spent mostly in Rome and Southern Italy. Thank goodness for whatever instinct spurred me to throw in a raincoat and silk long underwear. I think I’m wearing the raincoat in every picture we took, if only for wind resistance. We took the RS Heart of Italy tour 12 years ago with the same time frame and hardly donned a jacket.

I was in Capri during the Easter weekend in April and again for 2.5 weeks in May. It rained most days of our trip in May and the temperatures were unusually cold. The weather was definitely changeable! I read a news article that said May 2019 has been the coldest May in Italy since 1957.