Thinking about Sicily in the winter months...

California weather.
around 50F at night, around high 50s to very low 60F day, rain likely.
Away from the coast it gets a bit colder at night,

Believe it or not, Rome's climate during those months is somewhat similar to Sicily, maybe a little colder at night. but it's been known to get to the 60's during the day in both January & February. Friends of ours that we met at a B&B in Salerno on a previous trip spend their winters in Rome, avoiding the Chicago frozen tundra.

We visited Rome for a week this last winter, end of February. Just glorious. Cool to a little cold at night. Going out for a walk along the Tiber at 7AM, I needed a lightweight down jacket and a stocking cap, but no gloves. And it would warm up quite nicely during the day.

Guess you have to catch all these places at the right time. We proceeded from Rome down to Sorrento and the weather was decidedly crappier, even 100 miles south. Cold, rain, wind. Cleared up the day we left, of course!

Mid February the year I went was mostly cool but comfortable with some rain. One storm I particularly remember was short but very intense; a good excuse for a gelato break! It was a lovely time of year though compared to home (Colorado) in February. I took a fairly light rain jacket and layered underneath as needed and two pair of shoes. I was happy to have an extra (dry) pair that rainy day!

Also less crowds in winter. And no fatigue from heat/humidity/crowds. We are just wrapping up 15 days in Florence/Venice/Rome and are wiped out!

Kimberly, give us some 1st hand accounts of the crowds, especially in Florence and Rome. Where and how bad? Lines at restaurants? Saw none of this in late February/early March.

I know it's nice weather and warm & everything, but neither my wife nor I handle heat well. You couldn't pay me enough to be in either place this time of year. (Well, on second thought you could pay me and I'll 'try' to like it!) :)

My husband and I were thinking the same thing the year we visited Siracusa. We asked the couple who owned the restaurant where we were eating, "What's it like here in January?" "Lots of rain," they replied.

I would head for mainland Italy then. Much of Sicily's sights are outdoor and the combination of early sunsets and possibly rain would give me second thoughts. I've been to Italy in February several times in the past several years. Even the coldest places were mild. One year, I had a day of snow in Padua and followed the next day with flooding in Venice - all part of the adventure, but even those days, the temps were above freezing. And a day or two later in Venice, I was sitting in the sun enjoying cold drinks.

I love Sicily anytime of the year, so would encourage you to go there in the winter. I have been there at all different times of the year and did not find January and February unpleasant; on the contrary, it was quite warm most of the time. It was certainly not balmy, but one doesn't need more than a jacket or light coat. It is much warmer than mainland Italy during that time of year. I found that there was enough to see and places to visit and was never bored. I hope you go there.

Jay--regarding crowds--swarms around the Duomo in Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, lines just to get in to see any of the churches.

Rome, could barely get ourselves to the edge of the Trevi Fountain to throw a coin in, wall-to-wall people in the Pantheon. Could not get reservations to the Borghese Gallery.

Tourists dominate the cities, you need to plan your whole trip ahead of time, to get reservations where you want to go. We were lucky enough to get into the Friday night Vatican Museum, and made it in to the Uffizi and Accademia (Florence) very late into the day without reservations and the Duomo climb first thing in the morning.

I did study abroad in college and was unprepared for the crush of tourists. Also, the heat/humidity made it a lot more difficult to deal with. Don't get me wrong--I'm happy we went and were able to give our 2 teens this experience but it was a marathon of a trip, and we spent a good amount of time in each place. Just overwhelming. I won't go back in summer to Italy--too hot to deal with the crowds.