What should you wear in Italy?

What to wear in Italy by month

Average daily highs and lows for Rome (Urbe station) and Venice, 1991–2020 normals. Rome and the south are hotter and drier in summer; the north, including Venice, Verona, Bologna and Milan, is colder and foggier in winter. Bologna, inland in the Po valley, averages 31°C by day in July but about 0°C at night in January.

Venice Carnival runs 23 January to 9 February 2027; see our Venice Carnival 2027 guide. Venice's high tides (acqua alta) are most likely from autumn to early winter, when waterproof shoes or cheap plastic overboots sold in the city are worth having.

What to wear in Italy as a woman, and as a man

As a woman: summer dresses, skirts and shorts are all normal in Italian cities. The one habit worth copying is carrying a light scarf or shirt, because you will walk past open churches all day and most ask for covered shoulders. Midi skirts and linen trousers handle both the heat and the church door.

As a man: shorts are common among tourists in summer, but long linen or cotton trousers are what you need for St Peter's and the stricter churches. Going shirtless in town is frowned on everywhere and fined in some places: Venice's city rules ban walking around in swimwear or bare-chested.

Italians notice shoes and fit more than bare skin; clean, simple clothes go further than anything flashy. See what is considered rude in Italy for the etiquette side.

Church and Vatican dress code

The rule at Italy's major churches is shoulders and knees covered, for men and women. Sleeveless tops, low necklines, shorts and skirts above the knee are the things that get people stopped, and hats come off inside. Enforcement is strictest at St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in Rome, where staff turn people away; also check St Mark's Basilica in Venice, which applies the same rule and does not allow large backpacks inside, and the cathedrals in Milan and Florence.

At smaller parish churches a scarf draped over bare shoulders is usually enough. Don't rely on that at St Peter's: wear sleeves and trousers or a skirt below the knee on the day you visit. Our temples and mosques overview compares Italy's rules with the rest of our route.

Italy packing list

• Comfortable walking shoes: cobbles, marble and, in Venice, hundreds of bridge steps. Sandals with a back strap for summer.

• A light scarf or shirt to cover your shoulders in churches.

• Long, light trousers or a midi skirt for St Peter's and the stricter churches.

• Sun protection: a hat and sunglasses for July and August, when the inland cities pass 30°C.

• A refillable water bottle: Rome and Venice both have public fountains with free drinking water.

• Winter: a warm coat, scarf and waterproof shoes for the damp north.

What we saw in Italy in late July

We were in northern Italy from 25 July to 3 August 2023: Verona, with a day trip to Parma, then Bologna (27 to 31 July) and Venice. The route is in our Venice, Verona and Bologna itinerary. That is the hottest part of the year inland, and the churches were where the shoulders-covered rule came into play: the Gothic brick church in Verona in our cover photo, and the Baroque church interiors of Bologna, like the one below.

In Bologna the porticoes, around 62 km of covered walkways listed by UNESCO, give shade on the hottest afternoons. Venice averages 29°C by day in July, a little cooler than Bologna; light clothes plus a scarf for church visits work in both.

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