Autumn ? No, Italian Indian Summer Goes On and On and On

We are stomping grapes on our Rome terrace today — anticipating a class trip that my son takes Wednesday to a local organic vineyard where their wines are macerated and pressed in the old fashioned way (helped this year by 21 enthusiastic eight year olds, with very clean feet.)

At the vineyard, the children will stomp vitis vinifera of course, not these plump Roma table grapes.

While our North American friends are donning their autumn clothing and composting their gardens for a long winter’s hibernation, summer continues here still for a long time. Sicily stays summer-like really till November.  With the flowering of the almond tree, Sicily’s spring weather starts again in February, and soon quickly moves its way up the peninsula.

This month our favorite gardens on the lakes, in Tuscany, Lazio and Campania are lively, with new growth and bright shades of red, yellow and blue. And when they close in two months or so, then archeological sites, from Rome south, will offer wild flowers throughout the winter months. Below, in Sicily, is a crocus the children found on Christmas day.

On Saturday we visited Tuscany’s Argentario coast, in T-shirts and shorts and bathing suits.  The water was warm as soup.

In five days we will be again swimming, in the toastiest waters of the year — in beautiful Basilicata, close to Italy’s heel. Around Thanksgiving time, in Sicily, we would be almost sure of eight warm hours of sun daily — perfect golden light for exploring Greek temples and baroque cities, and even for swimming. The autumn is wonderfully romantic time of year to travel, and is our own top seasonal recommendation for the timing of a honeymoon. As a bonus, the autumn months see an abundance of festivals Italy-wide, many related to new season specialties (wine, figs, grapes, chestnuts, mushrooms, olive oil, truffles.) And of course hotels are delighted to offer low season rates.

Our clients are walking in the Dolomites this month.

Cast off your jackets, and take advantage of the long Italian summer : do let us know if we may plan travels for you throughout the end of this year. And next year, consider coming after crowds thin, after mid-September. You will have the nicest weather, our undivided attention and lush, lovely landscape  — where, for a long time still, autumn is nowhere to be seen.