We will arrive in Rome on August 24 and have to be in Verona on Aug 27 for Aida in the Colosseum - I am so excited!
I don't cope well with the heat and I think we will won't be able to get the best out of Rome at that time.
Where could we go to by train in the same direction as Verona to some interesting village/town for a couple of days which would not be as hot as Rome?
Thanks Sally

It is likely to be hot -- and humid -- everywhere you go in Italy at that time, so get air conditioning!

Check out Lago di Garda, which is about an hour outside of Milano, and only a half hour outside of Verona by train.

The train stops in two towns on the southern shore of Lago di Garda: one is Desenzano, the other is Peschiera del Garda. From either town you can get boats to tour other towns on the lakes.

But it is a 5 hour train trip from Roma to Milano, and then another 90 minutes to that lake, so I suggest you spend your first night in Roma in an air conditioned hotel just to get over your jet lag.

Another possibility is to book a flight from Rome airport straight to Milano, and then take a bus from the airport straight to Stresa on Lago Maggiore. That would be the "coolest" option, since you wouldn't be hauling your lugguge around in the heat.

Or:

You could take a train from Roma to a Tuscan seacoast town like Orbetello or Porto S. Stefano (about 2 or 3 hours from Roma). From there, it will be a bit more complicated to make your way to Verona by train, but you might have fun if you took it in two legs, perhaps stopping for the night near or in Genova. Along the coast (and at the lakes) accommodations will be jam-packed, so you need to start looking right away.

Lastly, try getting yourself a nice air conditioned hotel in Roma, sleep off your jet lag, laze around and do day trips: one to Orvieto and one to Tivoli. Or take the bus to the beach in Fregene. That will get you out of Roma for the hottest part of the day, and in the evening you can sit by the fountains in the piazzas.

You are really only talking about 2 days, and moving around in train stations hauling your luggage would be plenty hot.

I would also suggest looking at a good map of Italy and seeing what towns areon the way, then you'll have some research possibilities. Also you can go to raileurope.com and look at their interactive railmap to see where the train stations are.

Italy is hot in the summer. And the more inland areas - like Florence - are typically hotter than Rome. The only places that are really cooler are the mountains in the far north.

So - I would do Rome - just make sure your hotel has really good AC, carry water, wear a hat, take cabs if you're exhausted - but don;t miss the opportunity.

If you have trouble with heat, be warned . . . It will be hot in Verona, as well, even at night. You might consider going up to the mountains at Cortona for a few days, but there are no guarantees that it will be cool there either. August in Italy is just plain HOT.