(written by Clinton) January may not sound like the ideal travel time to go to Italy. Who wants to eat gelato in the freezing cold anyway? Well, if you like great deals, prefer not to get trampled by picture-snapping droves of tourists and don't mind wearing a jacket, Southern Italy in January IS ideal. This past January, I escorted a choir from California traveling from Florence to Rome and finally Sorrento. Florence in January is still a bustling little city, but the bustle was a bit slower, a bit more relaxed. Even with all of the post-holiday sales going on (which were ubiquitous), people seemed happier to walk at a comfortable pace with some elbow room, while in the summer time, everyone kind of has to walk with the flow of the crowd. Rome was warm and wonderful! Having been to this ancient city in the summer several times, it was a totally different place in the winter. We could actually walk around the Roman Forum and really take time to view the former market stalls and pagan temples in quiet contemplation, without competing for space with thousands of other people. Sorrento was the highlight of Italy in January. Traffic along the coast was almost non-existent, and while scooters seemed to be weaving in and out of traffic at break-neck speeds often, our driver insisted that the number of scooters and lack of survival instincts of the drivers increases 10 fold in the summer.
By the way, the weather this past January in Italy was warm, sunny and generally very spring-like. The temperature got into the 60s a couple of times! So, even though we were in Italy in the winter, we still enjoyed our gelato - and it didnt' melt as fast!
Italy in January