Italy, what's in spring or fall?

[jennifer]

Hi!

I have two seasons for Italy 2011, either fall or late spring (may). What will I get to see in one season that I won't in the other?
Any favorites?

[WillTravel]

My suggestion - go for late spring. Better sooner than later .
I would guess that maybe you could hit harvest times in fall, but I don't have enough details or knowledge to say much about that.

[Eagle]

jennifer,

Could you clarify a bit? Do you mean that you'll be able to travel either in late May or in the fall?

I've been in Italy both in the spring and fall, and both have been great. The weather is sometimes a bit cooler in the evenings in the spring (but not always). In the fall, there can sometimes be a few days of rain. There's a greater probability that "harvest celebrations" will take place in the fall, but I don't have any specific information on those.

Is there anything in particular that you're interested in seeing?

[madamtrashheap]

Glad to read you're still contemplating the Italia trip jennifer. What's on offer during each season will depend on where you go. Are you still sticking to the cities you listed in pretravel.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=anythingelse&thread=7717&page=1

I know we were talking about Autumn/Fall festivals, things to see/do/eat in this Post pretravel.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=CCadvice&thread=7715&page=1 so that still stands if you plan on going at that time of year. But as WT noted, Spring is sooner!

Spring in the places you listed, particularly May, will have things like May Day (1 May) when everything is closed, street parades happen to celebrate both the union/workers' movement and the original Pagan festival of Spring, Calcio Storico heats are in May in Florence (the final is on 24 June), Festival of the Cricket (Festa del Grillo) in Florence on Ascension (date alters with when Easter is, so check calendars), Vogalonga in Venice is usually on Pentacost (again, check caledar for exact date) when rowed boats of all types set off on a 30km or so journey to highlight the original mode of transport in La Serenissima, Pisa has the Festa di San Ubaldo on16th May when this minor patron saint is celebrated on the day of his death during the 'Settimana delle Piagge', a week of celebrations which includes a botanical market show and a minor crossbow competition. It's been a bit quite in recent years, so check website to see if the celebrations will still happen the year you're visiting.

Although it's not listed, Naples has a very interesting day on the first Saturday in May which is the Festa del San Gennaro when a sealed glass vial containing a dark unknown substance, allegedly the clotted blood of San Gennaro (St Januarius), is shown to thousands of Neopolitans in the Duomo di San Gennaro. Whilst the container is being handled during a solemn ceremony, the solid mass suddenly liquefies before everybody's eyes. If it does liquefy, there will be no disasters to befall Naples in the coming year, however if it stays solid, the Neopolitans know something will happen to their city or region.

There are a few other public holidays to watch out for which can happen in Italy in May (Pentacost, Corpus Christi, Ascension) and will mean some things/sights are closed on those days, so check your calendar before planning sightseeing.

Apart from Festivals, Spring is a pretty time to visit as it's still not too warm, but nice enough during the day to need only a t-shirt. Evenings will need a light jacket. There will be quite a few tourists around already, so lines at the Vatican, etc will be large already, but places like Cinque Terre will be lovely as the weather will be good for hiking/walking/sitting watching the world go by.

[jennifer]

Hum thanks for all the input!

Yeah, I'M still contemplating it. Other projects have put off my travels for another little while, but my mom and I are still planning on going It will either be Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. So spring is farther aahah It depends on the $$.

I'll meditate on all the input and be back If I go in spring, it will be late spring like end of May because of the class I'm taking for my master's.

xoxo