Packing for Florence in November

I detest being wet, and being a former commuter, I splashed out on a "three in one" type coat. These are made by various outdoor brands and have a rain coat that can be zipped free of an inner coat (it's a full coat, not a liner). If you get heavy rain and cold, you keep them together. It's an investment, but it was worth it for fall travel.
Otherwise, check the ten day forecast the week before and decide then. It's too early to decide now.

I believe a light-weight wool coat with rain hat and umbrella should be fine, as you note. I was in Florence in November 1994. I remember one light rain that lasted only a half-hour, and the rain wasn't bad in the other northern Italian cities I saw. The climate was relatively warm for November, but I'm from Chicago: Italy to me was balmy for a late fall.

Nobody can really reply to your question. The last Novembers were not too rainy, and generally rain in Florence is not as long and pervasive as in the north - if you see rain in Florence at 8am it could be over by 11am, rain at 8am in Milan means all the day will be rainy. Still, the possibility of intense rain is there; after all, the last Florence flooding was on November 4th, 1966. The general evolution of the climate looks to be toward less rain overall, but at times very intense storms.

November is our favorite month to be in Italy and usually for the whole month and into December. Maybe just luck, but we have not seen much rain then. However, I do take a raincoat and some warm layers to wear under it --- this seems more flexible to me than one wool coat, which can only be worn either on or off. You will be going into churches, museums, restaurants, stores, etc. that may be either very warm or very cold. So, for instance, you might want to be able to take off a raincoat to eat lunch but still have a cashmere cardigan on. A small travel umbrella is not a bad idea, but in a crowded city with narrow sidewalks like Florence you may find that you have to lower it or hold it to one side quite a bit. One really nice thing about Florence, if it's raining, is that you are almost always just a few steps away from shelter to duck into.

Check the forecast a couple of days before departing. The forecast is generally accurate for the following week.
Other than that, nobody knows for certain, so you can only use the historical data, like in the website below.
https://weatherspark.com/y/69010/Average-Weather-in-Florence-Italy-Year-Round

The insulated Helly Hansen raincoats are great for late fall weather. They aren’t bulky and they’re waterproof. Mine packs down really well in a Space Bag-type ziploc. Enjoy your trip!

I wouldn't want a heavy coat because I might end up having to carry it around for much of the day. I get by with a rain jacket on most of my trips. I like that I can tie it around my waist (yes, it's not a stylish look) or stuff it into my purse if it hasn't gotten wet. On a shorter-than-usual trip with few hotel changes I had enough room in my suitcase to pack a full-length, lightweight raincoat as well. That was for February/March when I didn't want my slacks to get absolutely soaked. There were a few days when I was glad to jave that coat, but I didn't need it most of the time. For November I'd hope to stick with just a jacket and a warm layer beneath it unless the long-range forecast looked troublesome.

I was in Florence in November 2005ish. For some reason we didn’t bring coats. It was cold, and we had to buy winter coats. I am from Wisconsin, and I’m almost always cold here:)

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I am working on being able to implement a couple different solutions depending on what the forecast shows the week before.

I didn’t realize Florence was still “too crowded for an umbrella” busy in November!

I think umbrellas are a waste of a perfectly good hand and arm, a distraction and if it's the least bit windy, they're useless. Truth be told, I've never found an umbrella that I couldn’t forget and leave behind somewhere. 🥴

To me, a rain jacket or rain coat with a hood is far more practical. As others have described, layering with it as the outer layer works for warmth. I've learned that a billed cap works well to keep the hood in place and keep the mist or rain off my glasses. Last summer it was even wet and cold enough on the west coast of Ireland that I used a beanie instead of the billed cap. A beanie or watch cap under the hood also helps keep it in place.

Another advantage of a rain jacket or rain coat is that a cross-body purse can be worn under it, making the purse less vulnerable to pickpockets. If there are zip up and or interior pockets, that's a big plus. I don’t travel anywhere without a rain jacket or raincoat because rain happens.

Living in the desert southwest it might seem odd that I have this Eddie Bauer Packable Rainfoil Jacket in 3 colors, but we usually spend some time each year in the Seattle area. Last year I got this EB Girl on the Go Trench for the trip to Ireland because it's longer and I was very glad I did. I definitely needed the length in that weather.

Timeanddate.com is a good place to get the forecast for Firenze when you get closer to your trip time and a great source for historical weather data. I hope this link will take you to last November where you can see the weather stats day by day. From there you can look at other years and explore more. Just remember, Mother Nature always wins. 😉