Will I need air conditioning near Lucca in early July?
 

I have been searching for a villa to rent this summer in Italy. The areas I'm most interested in are either Lucca or Montalcino. Many of the villas that appeal to me most don't appear to have air-conditioning. Will we be miserable without it?

It depends on how much you dislike heat. And if the villas have pools.

I never stay anywhere in europe in the summer that doesn;t have AC since I have run into 90s in plenty of places even north of the Alps and if the room is more than 70 at night I don't sleep at all.

But I know it doesn't bother some people. Just remember that no AC in the villa may also mean no AC in shops and restaurants as well. Often the coolest places are cathedrals since the walls are so thick.

For me, it's not just heat but also humidity. I'd want A/C.

It mostly depends on what you're used to. Coming from a place with hot summers, we never require air conditioning in Europe but might occasionally use it if it's available.

A villa near Montalcino might be at a higher elevation and not need air conditioning, especially if it has ample shade. Lucca is nearly at sea level, on the other hand.

We live in a hill town in Le Marche, which is not very much above sea level. We use air conditioning maybe two or three times each summer on average. When it's really hot, we usually go to our summer home in the foothills of the Sibillines, a bit further south, but still in Le Marche. Here we usually need a sweater in the evenings and early mornings, and always sleep under a blanket.

Altitude is everything in Italy, as far as summer temperatures.

At home, when it's hot, we keep the windows closed and our "serande" (sort of like rolling shutters) lowered in the heat of the day, and open everything up after sunset. We use fans inside to keep the air circulating. If we decide we need the air conditioning, we close the windows and turn it on. Usually we turn it off again, and open the windows, before going to bed. It's very rare that it would be hot during the night. I remember only one year where we fairly often needed air conditioning all night.

At our summer home, we don't bother closing the shutters. We don't even have fans there. Inside the house, which is an old stone house, it's never too hot, even when a heat wave is raging at home.

"Often the coolest places are cathedrals since the walls are so thick."

I don't think you'd be allowed to sleep there. :)

If you ask, it means you are AC hooked, then you need it.

I dislike AC and never use it anywhere in Europe and shut it down whenever I can. I use it in India when it is 40C outside and humid as hell.

Just keep in mind that if there is no AC it is because the locals don't need it. So if you want to live like a local...

>>>Just keep in mind that if there is no AC it is because the locals don't need it. So if you want to live like a local...<<<

Locals often have fans which most places don't seem to provide. My last trip, I saw that a few more places had screens in windows, but Europe really lags behind on this. I've never understood why they don't have screens more places. I would rather have a screen than be fighting bugs all night or smelling those Vape plugins.

If you state what you are looking for and budget, you might get some suggestions of places with AC.

With old villas the lack of a/c is not generally a problem as the walls can be as much as 3 feet thick. The important thing is to keep the shutters closed during the day.

Montalcino is further inland and higher up than Lucca and the summer heat is a dry heat and generally quite supportable.

It is the humidity you should be most concerned about in terms of feeling uncomfortable.

I am always amused by people who swear that A/C "isn't needed" and yet the hotels have installed it. Perhaps that was for the sole comfort of "Americans."

I also dislike air conditioning, but I'm sure it's needed more often in Italy than in Belgium.

The need for a/c depends upon both the location and construction of the property.

An old villa in central Tuscany may not need a/c whereas a recently built hotel in the same location may require it.

On the other hand if you are in the central Po valley in the summer it is essential due to the high humidity.

I would rather prefer a 40 degrees C outside Florence in the summer than 30 degrees C in Milan or in the towns to the south east.

Well I don;t want anything that's more than about 75 at all - so we usually go to Italy in May and to Spain in April. In the summer we go either to Switz or Scand.

But everyone needs to decide what temps they are comfy with - and remember that AC not only cools the air it sucks all of the humidity out of it, which can be even more important in many places.

About 15 years ago we spent a couple of days in Lucca, near end of May, and I remember thinking that if it were much warmer, I'd want a hotel with A/C. Our hotel did have a ceiling fan, and we used it. If traveling in true summer, I'd hunt a place with A/C.

No one in Europe enjoys the cost of using air conditioning. In the past ten years, it's become a luxury cost for small businesses in NYC, as well. Of all the expenses any lodging provider can endure, air conditioning is the highest. It puts enormous pressure on the bottom line. Yes, some European hotels provide it. They do so because their customers demand it. You can be sure the cost is reflected in the price of the room. If you're renting an apartment with air conditioning, you'll often find a supplemental charge for using it. The same can be true for heating in winter.

The need for AC in a Tuscan villa depends on so many factors. If it is a subject of concern for travel in July, then I wouldn't hesitate doing detailed research and finding a property that offers it and paying a premium price if necessary.

Every business person I know is talking about global warming in Italy these days. Heat surges are growing in summer months, and they are affecting almost every aspect of life. If you are heat sensitive, your chances of finding cool temps in the month of July are getting slimmer. If comfort is important to your travel enjoyment, then I would not rent a place in Italy without AC in the summer.

Bugs and screens are another subject. I would say simply, if bugs bother you, then Tuscany is no place for you.

Good post Snob...

But not only cost is the factor for our dislike of AC : it simply wasn't in our culture and a lot of people are against it for environmental reasons.

Now we all have it in our cars, and like it there, but we never freeze with AC. When I'm in say, Texas, I dread AC because they put it so low that I freeze in offices and then die in the street. So I prefer something uniform : hot everywhere...

In North America, I made an interesting observation: many hotels in North America are always hot inside. We stayed in a Best Western hotel in Seward, Alaska (!) and although it was cold outside, day and night, inside it was so warm that we had to switch on the A/C on our room. Very strange - I had never expected to need A/C when in Alaska.

Somehow, hotel buildings in North America are producing heat - maybe the ice machines and other devices. Therefore, you NEED A/C at most places.

In Europe, including Italy, it is totally different. The architecture (at least, traditional architecture) keeps the warmth outside, so we do not need A/C, even in summer. In Italy, you will notice that the shutters are always closed to keep the heat outside ("always" means always, a few minutes of open shutters in the bright sun let enough heat inside to spoil the effect). Also, thick stone walls have a cooling effect.

As someone had said, old houses are often cooler than modern hotel buildings in Italy.

In my experience, humidity is not so much a problem at the beginning of July in Tuscany as it is in the Southern States of the U.S.

I've never liked air conditioning. I hate the feeling of being closed in, of not getting enough fresh air.

When I lived in central New Jersey, where heat and (especially) humidity are worse than they are here in central Italy, I was among the very few who didn't have it. There was one summer that was so hot, for so long, that I considered installing it, but that summer I was away for a month (in Hawaii) so I didn't get around to it.

Everyone is different. We had a 17th century villa for 12 rented near Lucca with A/C.

It was very comforting in mid July.

But last year we had an apartment rented in Paris for 6 that had no A/C and used fans.

We survived with no problem.