Men And Shorts

Yes,, absolutely , with the exceptions you already noted( it will be most churches.. not just some.. )

Rome in summer is sweltering.. dress accordingly.. I wore the lightest sundresses.. with bare arms( forbidden in churches and Vatican).. BUT I wrapped a gauzy scarf that easily opened into a shall like covering for churches etc.. so I didn't have to wear sleeves or carry a sweater.

Dress for comfort. Really.

Can we please just get rid of this idea once and for all that shorts are unacceptable in Europe? When it is hot, everybody wears shorts.

My husband wore shorts, but they were more tailored, and he bought some in muted colors besides khaki. He wore a nautical blue, light blue, burnt red. I loved them and they look more stylish. He took black and khaki of course, also. He found that nice longer golf type shorts were lightweight and wrinkle free. He purchased a nice walking shoe to wear with them. He looked quite stylish in his short outfits. We were there mid September.

My husband wears shorts when it is hot, and he is European.

Bring longer golfing shorts that reach your knees
That way you can even pull them down 2 inches so they cover your knees and you will even be fine in churches

85 degrees is not too bad.
Shorts are fine for men too. Not as common among older Italian men, as they are with the less old generations, but they are perfectly acceptable even for older people.

I have never worn shorts on a RS tour. Not because I couldn't, just because I rarely do anyway unless I am doing yard work around the house or at the beach. I don't understand the desire by men in my age group to have to wear shorts everywhere. When I grew up, only little boys wore shorts and men wore long pants. Long pants in Rome in 90 degree heat was not uncomfortable at all to me.

Having said all that, I saw many men in Italy last October wearing shorts and just guessing but not many appeared to be tourists.

You really do not need to worry so much about shorts or no shorts. Grown men in baby clothes is what most Europeans find so distasteful, but in general americans manage to find the right balance and it is not an issue at all. Everyone will know you are a tourist rather than a local on their way to work and that is fine. As long as your clothing is neat, clean and functional you will feel at ease. In the more dressy and longer type of short you will blend right in. Add a pair of comfortable long pants for dinner in the evenings and shoes that are not sneakers and that is all you need to think of.

We were in Rome last week, temps 95-97 the whole time. We dripped sweat constantly. We went to the vatican museums, shorts on everyone, many tank top shoulders exposed. St. Peters, men and shorts everywhere, and knees everywhere. Only thing I saw covered were tank top shoulders. I was shocked actually. My son was no happy I made him wear pants. Many churches we went to during this trip they only thing they seemed to care about were tank top shoulders. Our boys wore zip off pants in St. Marks and St. Peters, shorts everywhere else ( buy the lightest weight stuff you can find). We did do the scavi tour under St. Peters. My daughters scarf wasn't fully covering her shoulder and the swiss guard wouldn't let us pass until it was. One man on our tour had shorts on and he tried to cover with a long shirt wrapped around his legs and they would not let him in. His group of about 8 said they had lost their luggage and this is what they had. The rest of the group had pants and shoulders covered. So for our trip the only long pants that I saw enforced was the scavi tour, which was incredible even if our English tour guide barely spoke English (thickest italian accent ever). My son and husband were very glad they had their pants because they very much enjoyed the tour.

Don't discount the option of a pair of light-colored, lightweight slacks, either in cotton or linen. One of the nice things about those is they cut down on the sunscreen you need to wear.

Shorts?

If you are 5-30, you can pull off shorts as youthful style.

If you are over forty, then you can pull it off because, well, you know...Old guys and shorts, you can be excused.

That said, I find that a pair of lightweight golf pants are easy to pack, work in most every situation, and are as cool as shorts, especially if you are exposed to the sun. I don't have to worry about where I might be going, and I don't have to change for dinner. I do wear shorts if I am at the coast or on an island, but mainly for the water or beach.

LOT's of men wear shorts in Italy. Just be comfortable, who cares if you are a tourist ...nobody

Thank you all very much for your detailed replies ! Shorts it is ! !

My husband wore shorts all over Italy, except for churches. It is too hot!

Just to clarify, when Tom_MN says "In hot weather, men can wear shorts at the Vatican above the knee. Women are held to a higher standard" he's not talking about St. Peter's Basilica - he's talking about the Vatican Museum. Occasionally you MIGHT see some inside SPB in shorts, depending on how the guards are feeling, but it's not a chance I would want to take.

I just got back from Italy and most men wore shorts, even to dinner in nicer restaurants in the cities.

The fact that pants are long does not mean that they will keep you so warm. What is most important is the kind of material you weather (o my use 100% pure cotton, silk, linen; synthetic material will keep you much too warm, also if short pants. My boy friend use white long pants when going out to dinner or to Friends in Florence.

Was also at the Vatican in June for the scavi tour and saw two women turned away by the Swiss guards for wearing what seemed like tennis skirts just above the knee. They ran down the block and bought scarves to put around their hips/thighs, which actually still had significant gaps in coverage over their skirts. They were allowed to tour. If they had been a few minutes later getting back they would have missed their tour and time slot. Honestly how can someone travel to Italy and not realize that this scenario may occur, especially at the Vatican(?) Our experience was that the churches in Italy met us more than half way. We were allowed entrance to a cathedral in which a wedding ceremony was happening with just the whispered proviso to please keep to the sides of the nave.

No, I'm talking about both the Basilica and the museum.

Tom, what are you talking about? Men cannot wear shorts inside the basilica. Here's the sign outside: St Peter's Dress Code. The figures are women on the left, and men on the right. Occasionally the guards might choose to waive that requirement, but you can't count on it.