The Village Italy tour includes the Basilicas of St Francis in Assisi and di San Vitale in Ravenna, and the Duomos in Orvieto and Siena. I seem to recall from a trip to Assisi many years ago that shorts were not permitted in the Basilica for either men or women, and don't recall if there were issues about short sleeves. Are there any guidelines for these places that we should keep in mind when deciding what to bring?
Thanks!
I haven't been on this tour, but as someone who has been all over Italy and to countless churches there (large and small), I just recommend covering you knees and shoulders. Short sleeves are acceptable even in the less touristy, village churches I've visited.
Short sleeves are fine for Italian churches. It's sleeveless that is objectionable, and no, I wouldn't wear shorts.
Thanks--I suppose I should have been more precise. I never bring shorts to anywhere in Europe, but I do have some skirts that are above the knee that I was thinking of bringing since it could be quite warm. They are longer than most shorts, but still a couple of inches above the knee. Would those likely be a problem?
For Assisi, we understand the rule as skirts should come to the knee, at least the top of it. Two inches above sounds risky.
I don't like dresses or skirts that just cover my knees, nor did I want to tour the churches that required that modesty in a maxi. I found the following skirt at Athleta that is on sale right now. It completely covers the knees and is quite stylish. They have it under swim cover ups, but it's a skirt too.
Go to Athleta.com, then swim, then cover ups. It's the Ribbon Stripe Skirt. Mine is beige/white. I wore it with my Clarks walking sandals.
http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1048262&vid=1&pid=439481062
Here it is. I don't wear it low on my belly like that though. I'm 5'8" and it covered my knees fine.
You can also pick up a pretty pashmina or shawl, and wear it over your short skirt, rather like that ribbon skirt is worn. There are lots of beautiful cashmere pashminas in the markets in Italy, very reasonably priced. I'm very, ummm... frugal, shall we say, and I loaded up on pashminas for Christmas gifts one year.
I would agree with Laura. If your knees are exposed, I wouldn't wear it.
Think of it this way? Even if some tourists may claim to have sneaked through with knees showing, the request is that you don't. Whether or not whomever is watching the door is feeling more or less magnanimous is a crapshoot. You wouldn't want to get all the way there only to be turned away at the door? Not a risk either of us have been willing to take on our trips to Italy.
Thanks for all the comments! I was trying to figure out how to bring as little as possible, and a couple of short skirts would definitely be useful, but I think I will take one longer one that covers my knees. I definitely am not interested in trying to sneak in dressed inappropriately. The last time I was there was on a biking trip, so everyone was in shorts, and I think we tied our light jackets around our waists--or slipped on the biking leggings. I'll make sure I wear the longer skirt on days when we're headed to large churches, and save the short one for other times.
Lois, I don't think any of us thought you were interested in pushing the 'rules' at all. That you asked the question was an indication of your thoughtfulness. :O)
I'll just add that I am pretty sure our Village Italy guide gave us a head's up the day before on whether it was a shorts or no shorts day. I, personally, don't wear shorts but several people were, so it was good of her to address the issue based on how the itinerary was working out.
One thing I found interesting on this tour was the ability to see all the relics in the various churches...including St Anthony's vocal cords! One of the guys on my tour was a physician who confirmed, yep they were vocal cords.
This was such a fun trip!
