Shorts in Italy?

It sounds like you’re thinking of the rule that knees should be covered in churches. (Shoulders too)

Depends where you're going. I would never wear them in a city or on a train, but they are fine in beach towns, or hiking days, or driving from village to village.

Shorts aren't necessarily the norm for Mediterranean men in their daily lives, but there will be plenty of people wearing shorts, though they may be mainly tourists. He should wear what he wants— he won't really stand out.

Exception for entering some/many churches, where knees and shoulders must be covered.

Maybe it was true in the 1970s...

I won’t wear shorts in Italy, but I don’t like wearing them at all anymore. I look awful in capris. I’m taking dresses and a couple maxi dresses. I pair of cotton skinny pants. My husband wears very nice Bermuda shorts, navy, light blue, neutral shade, even red. He mixes them with collared shirts or golf shirts. He looks quite spiffy. Takes long pants of course. I think your husband is fine in shorts and they are quite acceptable. I think it’s the kind of shorts that might raise an eyebrow. I’m of the opinion the nicer you look, the better you are treated.

Thanks everyone. This all makes sense. He will want to be comfortable for sure, and we aren't church goers, but may visit one as part of a tour or something.
It may be hot Memorial Day weekend there, so maybe others (tourists or not) will be in shorts too. At least his are cargo style and not short shorts : )

You will see a lot of shorts! No one will bat an eye. It’s how you want to look, and we like to look put together and stylish. Just how we are.

As noted above churches often require to cover knees and shoulders, therefore shorts may not always be appropriate to visit churches.

Outside of churches, cargo/bermuda shorts are perfectly acceptable and Italians wear them all the time. Older generations Italians are more reluctant to wear them, especially in the city centers (like Florence, Rome, Milan, etc.), but younger generations (under 70 y.o.) have no qualms about wearing them anywhere.

Having said that, you won't see too many Italians wearing shorts in May, unless unseasonably very hot. Temperatures in May are not necessarily so hot, to require shorts, and for some reason many Italians have a mental block when it comes to wearing shorts outside the hottest summer months (mid June-mid Sept). My suggestion to your husband is to check the weather forecast just before leaving and unless temperatures in your destinations are in excess of 28-29 degrees centigrade (85 F and above), there won't be a lot of people wearing shorts in the cities, so packing only one pair of long (bermuda type) shorts it's probably the safest thing to do.

Pull up some videos on Youtube of places you'll be visiting and focus only on the people in the background. You'll likely see a lot of shorts. When tourism is involved, all kinds of things are "acceptable" since income is involved. Just go easy on logoed T shirts and sweatshirts.

Keep in mind that if you get caught in a heat wave, the coolest convenient place to cool down may well be a church, and your husband really shouldn't go inside that nice, inviting church if he is wearing shorts.

Shorts

Socks

Sandals

Perfecto.

Shorts are for the young not the young at heart. No churches or even some museums if not dressed properly. Beaches yes. Look at your itinerary and then decide.

Does the “no shorts in churches” rule apply to kids under 10?

Does the “no shorts in churches” rule apply to kids under 10?

People misunderstand the shorts and shoulders thing. It is not a Law or Rule, it is an accepted sign of respect, and sometimes at places where it tends to be a problem, they have monitors to try and control the crowds and keep a sense of decorum, including noise, picture flashes, etc.. I mean keep in mind, these are not tourist attractions in the sense that they exist for tourists, they are places of worship.

That said, you want to go in churches to take a look, dress and act appropriately. For children, ideally, yes, they should observe the same conventions, but like kids anywhere, they sometimes get cut a little slack for not knowing better (like with making noise). Can't say that a monitor at a specific church would agree, and many churches do not have monitors.