What To Wear In Italy In July: Stylish Hot Weather Outfits

Thinking of visiting the bel paese in peak Summer and wondering what to wear in Italy in July?

I am glad you asked, as this is going to give you the opportunity to reflect whether July is truly the best time for your trip.

And if you’re already all booked, no worries. This guide will help you prepare for the hot weather, so you can fully enjoy your dolce vita experience, no matter how hot it gets.

I will be sharing weather information, packing tips, and practical outfit ideas for Italy in July.

Shop The Looks

PS: This post includes affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have or would personally buy.

How Is The Weather In Italy In July?

Let’s start with the most important piece information – the weather situation.

Italy is a large country so it’s normal that temperatures are not going to be the same everywhere. However, there’s one constant, and it’s that every part of Italy experiences a heatwave between mid June and end of August.

Having said that, I am going to give you examples of what the temperatures look like in different main cities, from North to South.

Northern Italy in July Weather

Aosta – one of the coolest cities in Italy because of its mountains, sees temperatures reaching over 32 °C (90°F) and lows of around 17 °C (62°F). The lows usually happen towards the end of the month, though the temperature does cool down drastically during the night.

Anywhere else in Northern Italy in July experiences really hot weather, including in mountain cities like Bolzano and Turin. Temperatures, in fact get much higher than in Aosta.

The same can be said about Trieste, a port city on the Adriatic sea, and Milan. While many of us think of Milan as this grey rainy city, it gets really hot in Summer there, so keep that in mind if you are visiting.

How Hot Is Rome In July?

I can see that Rome and Florence are the two cities people ask the most about, so let’s talk about them.

Rome is one of the hottest cities in Italy in July, with highs of 37 °C (98°F) and lows of 20 °C (68°F). The latter usually happens at the end of the month, when the heatwave might be taking a respite before starting again in August. But the weather is unpredictable, so don’t go book a holiday to Rome at the end of July because of this statements. Things change from year to year.

The weather in Florence in July is very similar to Rome’s, usually just around 3 °C (37 °F) lower.

Everywhere else in central Italy experiences similar temperatures, with Perugia and Naples being as high as Rome. Naples can get even hotter but also cooler, meaning the highs can be higher than Rome and the lows lower.

Bologna has a similar temperature to Florence, but at times lower.

How’s The Weather In Southern Italy in July?

I’d say it’s probably the best you can get throughout the country. In Sicilian port cities like Palermo and Trapani the highs are usually around 31 °C (87°F) with lows of 25 °C (77°F). Taormina and Siracusa get hotter.

Bari and Lecce, in Puglia, have similar temperatures, while Cagliari gets a little hotter. I know Sardinia is not exactly part of Southern Italy, but we usually group it together with Sicily, since both are big islands, and the weather is similar.

What To Pack For Italy In July

Now, that we’ve seen the temperatures from North to South, we understand that wherever you are going it’s going to get really hot. That means that the type of fabrics we are going to pack are going to be the same. The shoes, the accessories, the style of clothes, and the styling is going to differ. But we will look into the styling ideas in the next section.

Fabrics to pack for Italy in July:

• Cotton
• Linen
• Bamboo
• Lighter fabrics like chiffon, viscose, and polyester, but only for a shorter periods of time, like in the evenings.

Essential clothing pieces for July:

• Linen trousers
• White linen shirt
• Sleeveless tops and blouses
• A line midi dresses
• Shorts to wear under skirt and dresses to avoid rubbing
• Lightweight maxi or midi skirts
• Shorts or bermuda shorts, if you feel comfortable wearing them
• Swimwear and cover ups
• Evening dresses
• Lighter color clothing for when you are going to be out in the sun

I truly suggest you leave your jeans, and any denim pieces at home. That fabric is too thick for Summer in Italy.

Shoes to take with you:

• Sneakers for mountain and sightseeing days
• Ergonomic sandals (make sure they don’t rub) for walking
• Medium to low heeled sandals for dinners
• Flat sandals for dinner
• Beach and pool shoes, like sliders

Accessories to pack for Italy in July:

• A travel tote that you can wear for sightseeing too, especially longer day trips.
• A smaller bag for when you are taking a stroll. You could use the same bag for dinner, if you are having a more relaxed holiday.
• One or multiple evening clutch bags if you are going somewhere fancier, or plan to dress up for dinner.
• A beach bag if you are having that type of vacation.
• Minimum jewellery, preferably something that doesn’t tarnish, as that’s more likely with the heat and sweat.
• Hair accessories, especially to get it off your face when it gets too hot.
• Belts

Extra items to take with you:

• A light raincoat if you are going to Northern Italy (although rare it can rain)
• A light cardigan in case it gets chilly under the AC
• A large lightweight scarf to throw in your bag and use multiple ways – beach cover up, shoulder cover up to protect you from the sunshine or a chilly AC.
• Plasters, in case your shoes rub. Sandals have this tendency.
• Extra tops, for when you need a second change during the day. As I said, it gets really hot, so if you are someone who sweats a lot, you will be grateful you packed the extra clothes.
• A hat to protect your scalp from the sunshine. Mine always gets burnt when I travel between April and October in sunny destinations.

You’ll find more packing list tips and a separate checklist for each season in my Packing System Guide.

What To Wear In Italy In July: Practical & Stylish Outfits To Copy

The outfit ideas I am about to show you in this section are all inspired by real outfits Italian women wore in Italy on a hot Summer days. Many of them were likely tourists in their own country, so the outfits are suitable for vacation.

As you can see these outfits can work both for a Summer city vacation or a seaside destination.

If you are going somewhere near the mountains, you can still wear many of these. You’ll just need to swap the shoes for sneakers, and take a layer, just in case it’s a little chilly up there, thought I doubt that will be the case. Make sure to take a hat and sun cream, that’s for sure.

I have given you outfit ideas with shorts, pants, skirts and dresses. Many of these can be transitioned from morning to night, with just a change of shoes. And the last two are especially great for dinner.

Since it’s hot in July in Italy, you might want to have more separate dinner outfits, so you can go back to your hotel or apartment, shower and change.

For those of you who are going to spend most of the time between breakfast, the beach, and dinner, you’ll find more inspiration in this post: 20+ Amalfi Coast Outfits From A 25-Piece Capsule Wardrobe.

More Hot Weather Italy Fashion Guides

If you enjoyed the tips and inspiration, don’t stop here. I have plenty more hot weather outfit ideas in other guides. I am listing the most relevant below:

What To Wear In Italy In August (coming soon)

What To Wear In Italy In June: 15 Chic Warm Weather Outfits

My Italian Summer Capsule Wardrobe: How I Built It Backward

Cotton Dresses Outfits

Linen Dresses Outfits (coming soon)

Whether you’d like to see my Summer outfits or get my easy Italian recipes for the season, I invite you to join my newsletter – Buona Settimana. Sign up via one of the boxes on this page and you’ll get one email every Sunday. I look forward to chat with you.

Thank you for reading. Please like and share this article with your friends.

A presto,
Alessia