One Month stay in Italy 2026

I'm afraid I have no tips for you on rental agencies, but I want to be sure you realize how really oppressively hot Florence can be in the summer. It would not be my choice for a long stay at that time of year.

The website timeanddate.com is very handy for finding actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics for places all over the world.

Florence weather -- July 2024

Florence weather -- July 2023

You can use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph, to check other months and years. The Search box will yield info on most other places you might consider staying.

I know the OP is excluding AirBnB, but I think that's counterproductive. We stayed in nothing but AirBnB lodgings in Italy for a month last summer and had uniformly excellent experiences in Lecce, Napoli, Orvieto, La Spezia, Genoa and Bologna. All except one of these was a second home of an Italian individual; Bologna was student housing that was unrented for the semester.

So I’ve visited Florence for years during the summer, the heat doesn’t bother me. I love summer. And I love Florence.
I am not ruling out using Vrbo/AirBnb, I’m just looking for other types of avenues for a longer stay. Thank you!

My experience trying to rent a place for month last year - not in Florence by nearby - lead me to the conclusion that the AirBnB and Booking.com have sucked all the oxygen out of this space. There used to be agents who built a living specializing in longer stays and individual websites about longer stay apartments but that largely seems to be a thing of that past.

Whenever I tried to pursue any of the few websites I found I either got no reply - the majority - or "We don't do that anymore but if you want to rent for a year or more or buy please let us know". I even contacted a realtor who wrote an interesting article on rental times and requirements in the town asking for help and he referred me to their internal rental person. But when I described what I was looking for she just sent me some AirBnB links.

Agriturismos seem to have kept some independence but outside of that and maybe super high end rentals I had no luck finding a local source or website for month long rentals.

I hope you fare better, good luck,
=Tod

Back in February 2017, we stayed for a week in Rome at a 2nd floor apartment owned by a hotel right on Campo de' Fiori. Pretty much an efficiency with no bedroom but a galley kitchen and a nice bathroom. Certainly livable for 2. It being truly off-season, everything was locals chill, the daily market was divine, and weather was temperate, between 40-60 generally. Very easy to assimilate if one wanted to do that. We paid less than $90/night, and in BS'ing with the hotel manager I asked if for a month he could do better on the rate, and the answer was 'absolutely'.

Since then we've had Covid, and tourist rebound post-Covid, and now Jubilee 2025. The landscape has changed, unfortunately. Sure, you can find a place for a month in Florence in June/July for 7 people. And you'll pay through the nose for being around thousands of your closest and dearest friends. Can't think that's desirable for anyone. Our Florence AirBnB in just a few weeks, in early April, in the central district between Florence SMN station and the Duomo, will cost us just under $400/night for a 4 BR, 4 bath, staying four nights. Booked last July. I thought that was a steal, comparatively. And in Rome we've got a place, also for 4 nights, that's a little smaller, a little more expensive. And this isn't even technically high season, although this year with the Jubilee it may look like it. I don't dread the throngs of people, but will avoid it when I can.

On my mind's back burner since 2017 has been a winter stay, probably in Rome, of 6-8 weeks. Maybe base in Rome weeks 1-3 and 6-8, traveling around weeks 4-5. Maybe have family visit from the States during the 6-8 weeks. I'm planning on doing some reconnaissance this upcoming trip, to determine whether it can be done reasonably, which to me is spending less on a monthly basis than I would as a snowbird to FL, AZ or CA. In 2017, it could be done. Now? I ain't so sure...

Good luck, OP, in your planning!

You might have a look at https://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/. While it targets an academic audience, it is not exclusive. We rented a modestly priced apartment this way in Rome for 18 months. You are moving into an “occupied” dwelling while the owners are away for an extended period of time. Note that in searching the listings you need to use the Italian name, Firenze. Even if they list a minimum stay of 6 months, it is worth contacting them to see if they are flexible.

I've used this company twice with good success: Tuscany Now and More They have a lot of properties AROUND Florence, but not really right IN Florence as they specialize in villas and bigger properties. But with 7 people, maybe that would appeal to you.

For longer stays, I've used Italianway for a four-month stay and it worked out well too.

AirBnB and Booking.com have sucked all the oxygen out of this space

Interesting comment. I think the cognoscenti once had the inside track on finding cool and unique lodgings when traveling, but these platforms have made those places available to the masses. This seems to prove that I'm one of "the masses." :o)

What I usually do is study (!) Booking.com and Airbnb for the area I want, bearing in mind booking.com reviews are usually accurate and Airbnb generous. Then I go onto "subito.it" choosing the municipality and "case vacanze" and see if I recognise any of the listings. You could also search directly by CIN number now - the officially holiday letting national number which is obligatory, but Google doesn't seem to find that within the subito.it site. If I find some I like on Airbnb and Booking, I contact the owner on subito.it. (You can also find some accommodations directly on Google maps using the name of the listing).
This way you don't book a place with no reviews but can save money by going direct to the owner. Just booked three accommodations in Sardinia in May with this system saving between 10 and 40% on Airbnb and booking prices. BUT Booking/Airbnb give you options like free cancellation. Do you want to send money direct to an owner as a deposit? IMO it works for a trip within a few months not for next year.
Also, you will find it difficult to book a place now for summer 2026 because most owners don't open their listings so far in advance.
Most owners in Italy prefer to use Whatsapp for communication.

Thank you everyone for the advice! Summer time is the only time we can travel for a longer period of time (We teach!). This summer, we are heading to Florence and I will connect with Florentine friends for any leads they may have, as well. I have been trying the booking.com/AirBnB cross check for reviews, areas and such.

There are other beautiful cities (Mantova and Ravenna) with less visitors than Florence, of course, but Florence is everything to me! Thank you again for sharing some of the tools that you used for longer stays.