Help! I want to go to Milan in June - July and would like to know when the summer sales start especially in Milan and in Italy in general. I am interested in designer fashion. Thank you!

M- Italy is on sale right now! Not since a very long time has the lira reflected 50% better value to Americans. With the rate of the lira you can look at the prices and divide by half. To me, that is a great sale! Am confident the weaker lira will continue through late Fall. I am planning to goin early Fall ONLY because of this weaker situation . Bon Viaggio!

Marpha- <BR> <BR>As prior poster said, the exchange rate between American USD & Italian lire is fabulous (from the American perspective) --- and so, it's a good time to go & prices across the board are excellent. <BR> <BR>Generally Italy does not have a specific "sale season" --- my friend who lives there advises that periodically the government declares that there will be sales, but it doesn't happen at a predictable pattern or time.

When my grandparents came to the USA (NYC) in the early 20th century they were amazed by all the signs saying "SALE" in America. "Sale" is "salt" in Italian and it was (maybe is???) heavily taxed.

Thanks guys, but I am not American so I can't really take the benefit from dollar being so high value at the time being compared to EURO currencies ... So I am really interested in when the sales start in July. I visited Italy last July but I really can't remeber whether it was sales time or not... Italians, help me!!

As someone else pointed out, sales are government regulated, but they are usually set for mid- to late July. June would be too early.

I was in Italy last summer for the month of July, and almost every clothing store had big SALE signs in thier windows. Everything I've read has said that the sales go from mid July through August, but from last summer, I would say the sales begin in early July.

Sales in Italy are usually from the beginning of July to end of August (although in cities a lot of shops may be closed for at least two weeks in August). Exact dates may vary from city to city, as they are regulated from the local authorities. <BR> <BR>For most variety I would try to go the first/second week of July, for best prices towards the end. Usually discounts are 30% off, but they can be as 60% off towards the end of the sales period. <BR> <BR>Winter sales are usually January to mid-February. <BR> <BR>Best shopping to you, <BR> <BR>Silvia

When I was in Rome and Palermo in '96 both cities had sales - it was early September, so it was an 'end of summer' type sale.

Silvia said it all Marpha. We have visited Italy from early July to early August several times. Things have worked best for us around mid July, with good variety and prices. In early August one may find amazing prices (up to 75% in cases) but the shelves tend to be pretty empty. <BR> <BR>Paulo