Sleeve Lenght Question

Anybody's weather report is anectodal, at best. This year has nothing to do with next year or last year. Wunderground.com (as well as other sites) can give you seasonal averages as well as records. If you prepare for the worst on either end you can't go wrong. You realize there's going to be a temperature differential between Lake Como at night and Rome at mid-afternoon, right? Basic travel equipment: I'm sitting in the northern islands of Scotland probably wearing the same shirt I had on in Cairo last month - - thin, long sleeves with roll-up tabs. Had a t-shirt on under it with a jacket this morning, ditched the jacket this afternoon, put it back on tonight. If it's really nippy in the morning I'll put on a long sleeve undershirt, if its hot, back to just the outer shirt, if it's really hot or I'm doing a lot of tromping, the sleeves get rolled up. Simple.

I was in Piedmont during the week of October 8 and I was plenty glad to wear long sleeves and at least one layer on top of my shirt.

We were in Italy Oct 12-25. We had cloudy, cool, rainy weather for most of the trip, but Florence was way HOT. If you are packing for your trip, take both - take 1-2 long sleeve shirts, then the rest short sleeve. Layering is what you should plan on doing. A vest or light sweater to warm yourself in the cooler evenings.
Bring a rain jacket for sure. In a pinch, you can shop and buy an additional article of clothing, but clothes in Italy are fairly expensive (Euro-Dollar exchange) In a pinch H&M in Florence or Rome for cheaper clothing. Based on where you are will also determine the weather patterns. Cooler up north around water and in the mountains, warmer south (Rome) One never knows what will be, so just be prepared for everything.

I just got back from a three week trip. We started in Venice and then to Milan, Florence, Siena, Assisi, and Rome. The weather ranged from sunny upper 70s to quite rainy with low 60s. I would take mostly short sleeve shirts with maybe one long sleeve and a sweater. Even on the warm days a sweater was nice in the early mornings and in the evening. We also experienced some wind.

Can you wait?
Or do you need to know now? Unless malls and department stores are closing down for a year in your town (come on Robert, I know you are in Florida, but I don't think you will need the entire sales force for a year to count ballots at this presidential election), I'd wait and check the weather forecast just before departing. From experience, having lived in Florence for almost 30 years, I'd say that early October is probably going to be warm enough for short sleeves during the day but cool enough for a light jacket or light sweater in the evenings or mornings.

I can wait. Curious now incase I see any good sales on exofficio or other travel clothes over the next couple months I would start to get some items. I am originally from Northern New Jersey and guessing the weather in Rome might be similar to NYC. I have been checking the weather online for temps but always good to hear from folks who got back recently.

Personally I would go for long sleeve shirts. Although temperatures may be warm enough for short sleeve, Italians tend to be less informal in cities. Even if it might be unseasonably hot, come Autumn, they will dress according to the season, i.e. not like it's summer. So take very few short sleeves, and definitely no shorts. If it's hot, you can always roll up your sleeves.

Pack both just to be safe. We were in Rome at the beginning of March a few years ago and they had a heat wave the week we were there. All I had were sweaters because it's usually chilly so I had to buy some short sleeve shirts or would have sweltered the whole trip. If it's colder than you think you can always add a layer. If it's hotter than you think a short sleeved shirt will be a God send. Donna