elnap29

With the heat wave in Italy, we are looking at a change in itinerary. We'll be in Varenna for several days and might ditch our plan to go to Florence. It looks like Bergamo is about 10 degrees cooler than Florence. Any opinions about visiting Lecco, Bergamo, Verona, Vicenze or Padua? (We will be flying out of Venice). It looks like Verona and Vicenze are pretty hot, too, and It seems Milan is as hot as Florence. I think I'll be able to handle the heat if we are under 90F.

greg

How far ahead forecast are you looking at?
Are you taking into account the effect of humidity into what you feel like in addition to just the temperature?
At that temperature/humidity combination level, it is not that different from place to place. Unless you are used to sleeping in hot humid places, accommodations with wimpy A/C would make difference at night. When I have to make last minutes hotel changes, I seem to hit that one room with "broken" A/C.
Dolomite destinations would give you more predictable relief from heat during the day.
The alternate places are not interchangeable with Florence depending on what you where looking for in Florence.

elnap29

Greg, are you saying that there will be no difference in comfort level from Florence? 10 degrees seems significant...

We were in Florence 9 months ago, so I don't mind skipping it if Bergamo would be more comfortable. I think Milan will be as hot as Florence. I need 3 or 4 days for itinerary substitution. We are traveling by train.

Jean

If your trip is between now and the end of August, I think you'll have a hard time avoiding the heat wave in the area between Varenna and Venice.

Will you have a car? That would increase your options....

I wouldn't assume the Dolomites would be significantly cooler unless you can get to fairly high elevations, and for that a car and reservations would be necessities. Even Ortisei has forecasted temps in the upper 80s through the end of August, and the sun is intense at high elevations. Cortina's forecast is for much lower temps. It's pretty far from Varenna but in the general direction of Venice..

Since the heat wave seems to be moving from west to east, have you considered going "behind" it? Turin's forecast doesn't look too bad. Ditto Aosta.

Jean

Sorry. My post came up after yours about traveling by train.

I'd look at Torino. Travel time is 3 hours from Varenna, 3.5 hours to Venice.

Jean

I meant to add that I like Bergamo. I would see where you can get reservations.

Dukey1

Yesterday it was 101 degrees here in Bologna where we are now; we leave for Verona this coming Tuesday and I see the forecast is for cooler weather near the end of the week.

I would check that forecast before making any plan changes and don't assume the "heat wave" is going to last.

Leely2

I was in the Val Gardena last month (also in Venice, Bolzano, Arezzo and Rome). The Val Gardena was much cooler; even when it was warm during the day, the evenings cooled down considerably which was nice. I didn't have a car--trained from Venice to Bolzano and then arranged for private taxi to Ortisei. It was very easy to get around the towns of the Val Gardena. In August you would really need to book ahead; it will be crowded.

If you like hiking, it's a glorious destination.

Some weather forecasts here:
https://www.dolomitimeteo.it/en/sout...isei/saturday/

Good luck!

massimop

This is a good website with 15 day forecasts for fine tuning heat-avoidance itinerary

https://www.ilmeteo.it/

The forecast for the second half of August is lots of thunderstorms in the Alps.

I think you've done a pretty good job scoping out the cool spots. Bergamo would be my pick. Depending on how much time you have you can visit pretty Clusone by bus from Bergamo which might be nice. I think the logistics to Lecco are not difficult either.

massimop

By the way, all Italian forecasts are iffy and there is lots of instability that comes with this much heat. It's very possible the heat will break suddenly.

But if you are not wedded to the idea of going to Florence, looping through Bergamo might have the makings of some very sweet lemonade when handed lemons.

Also, I misread your first post as saying you'd be in Vernazza (in Liguria). From Varenna it is so simple to go to Bergamo. Take the train to Lecco and switch.

In addition to the bus up to Clusone, you could also consider visiting Sarnico if you haven't had your fill of lake views

https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/sarnico

massimop

also, picking up on the issue of humidity, you can use the link that I gave you to compare humidity levels. Just use the "altri dati" option on the upper right. In the immediate forecast, while there is a noticeable difference humidity between Bergamo & Firenze (the latter being lower, especially at night), there is not much difference between Bergamo & Bolzano, and Bergamo is cooler.

Again, these numbers may not be what will actually happen, and higher humidity can definitely slow you down. Nighttime humidity makes hotel air con a priority. One thing that would attract me to Bergamo vs Florence is the ease of getting there with high reward in terms of sights & food treats, plus a fraction of the tourists. Misery doesn't always want that much company.

bvlenci

I would just add that some of the places that are a little cooler are experiencing severe thunderstorms, as often happens at the boundary of warm and cooler weather. Cortina had very severe weather yesterday, with mudslides and flooding.

massimop

yes, as noted above by me, thunderstorms & "acqua bombs" are likely to continue further into August, so I would go too far up or into the wilds. But Bergamo is nicely situated.

nochblad

In Northern Italy the last 10 days have been particularly oppressive especially in the Po Valley - including Milan, Cremona, Mantova, Reggio Emilia etc. The heat has been associated with the typical delights of flies up to early evening and mosquitoes theron - a combination of the intensive rearing of pigs (for prosciutto, salame etc) and cows (milk, cheeses etc) as well as stagnant water.

However, the heatwave is finally breaking and next week promises (and this is the operative word) thunderstorms.

So maybe for the OP the choice should be choosing museums not for the added virtue of AC but being protected from the thunderstorms.

The weather forecasts in Italy - especially the pre-Alps - can change very quickly during the summer months and from one valley to another. Last week in Como there was a tremendous thunderstorm with hailstones but I was only 3 miles away and experienced not a drop of rain.

elnap29

Thanks for all the tips. I've been aware of the thunderstorms but figured we can still enjoy ourselves with that weather. DH is the one who is pushing for a detour to Firenze; I keep pointing out that his itinerary is mostly outdoors and is likely to be miserable in 95 F to 100 F degree heat. Bolzano and Dolomiti area seem a bit out of the way (traveling by train) and will probably be best for a separate trip.
Had not considered Turin, so will look into it. If Bergamo is more tolerable in the heat than Florence, I will keep it at the forefront of Plan B.
Thanks for the reminder about mosquitos - hadn't thought of them, as we weren't troubled by them last Sept/Oct.