Rome in Winter…
Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Dean Martin Let It Snow
…Hang on a second. This is winter in Rome we are talking about. It snows in Rome maybe once every ten years or so.
Typically thoughts of Rome often lead to thoughts of hot summers, gorgeous flavours and Mediterranean sea breezes. Rome is all of these things and more.
When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, I loved the heat and couldn’t get enough of it. I think it had to do with growing up in Canada. I had suffered one too many harsh winters and Vitamin D deficiencies.
Now I live in Rome all year round. In all honesty it has been a couple of years now that I cannot wait for the air to be cooler and fresher. I look forward to pulling out my jackets and coats. Even the dreaded cambia stagione is something that I have begun looking forward to.
Cambia stagione, for those not familiar with the term literally means change of seasons. It is a Mediterranean tradition that involves changing your wardrobe to match the seasons. Summer attire is folded and stored away to make room for the winter attire to come down from the attic.
This is a necessary tradition because of space limitations in closets. It is a tradition that I have personally embraced because every time I do the cambia di stagione rediscover pieces that I may have forgotten about. It also gives me a chance to evaluate and donate or discard items that are no longer serving me.
Being a tour guide I have experienced all of the seasons and weather in Rome multiple times. I visit museums, archeological sites and see the different piazzas, churches and squares all year round. This makes me uniquely qualified to give you advice about winter in Rome and what you can expect.
Let me say this, walking around open air archeological sites under the scorching sun in 40C or 110F is not nearly as romantic and enjoyable as you might imagine. Shhh! I will tell you a secret . . . winter in Rome is the best time to visit. Read on to find out why.
Winter in Rome Holidays
Rome in winter brings a flurry of social, religious and shopping activity. It also brings shorter days and much welcome cooler temperatures.
The main dates to note are the following:
December 8 – The Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception
Mid November-December -Hannakuh Light Ceremony
December 24 -Christmas Eve
December 25- Christmas Day
December 26- Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s)
December 31- New Year’s Eve
January 1- New Year’s Day
January 6- La Befana, The Epiphany Feast Day
February 14- Valentine’s Day
Rome inWinter Weather
What will the weather be like? How should I dress and pack? These are all questions that come up for travelers who have not had much experience traveling to Rome in winter.
When it comes to winter weather in Rome you can expect to find just about all types of weather…except for snow. It hardly ever snows in Rome. Average daytime temperatures hover around around 13C or 55F. Evening temperatures average 4C or 40F. December through February average 7 or 8 days of rain.
What Should You Pack and Wear?
The best advice for your wardrobe is to think and pack for layering. If it is sunny day the daytime temperatures could be 15C or 60F. As the day progresses the temperatures may drop or there may be a switch of weather. Dressing in layers helps with being able to take off or put back on various layers to maintain a perfect level of comfort.
There are two items that should be in your suitcase in all seasons. Those two items are sunglasses and a scarf or shawl. Whether it is Rome in winter, spring or summit. Whether it is hot or cool, Rome has brilliantly sunny days all year round so you will want to protect your eyes and your face from wrinkles by wearing your shades.
The scarf is the quintessential fashion accessory to be used all year round. You will not find an Italian without a scarf and that includes men. Italians have a fear of contracting cervicale (no medical comparative name). Cervicale is essentially a kink in the neck which can be brought on by neck exposure to cold wind. This is where the scarf is indispensable and can also be a way of making a fashion statement.
Other items to be considered when packing for your trip include a couple of outerwear items or one solid one that will take you through all types of weather. If bringing more than one outerwear item, consider a wool coat or jacket and a raincoat or trench coat. For footwear I recommend a pair of very comfortable shoes or boots that can cover the distance while not hurting your feet. Consider bringing a pair of stylish footwear also for evenings out and about town. The temperatures are cool and providing it is not raining you will get the most out of your Roman holiday by walking.
All handbags/purses/manpurses should have a zipper and if possible a flap to cover the zipper. Pickpocketing is not a huge problem in Italy but it can happen and a way to avoid it is to have zipper closures on handbags or to use a money belt.
Winter in Rome Produce and Eating Seasonally
One of the things I love about living in the Mediterranean is the fact that people tend to eat seasonally. Italians are quite particular about eating food in the proper season and I personally appreciate that. Eating seasonally is better for the environment and means you are more likely to be eating foods that are grown closer to home. The produce itself appears to have a better nutrient profile and tastes better when eaten in season.
December Produce in Rome
December is the start of the holiday season and there is no shortage of produce available for this time. The main produce available is all things citrus. From lemons, mandarins, clementines, oranges and grapefruit. Another fruit rich in vitamin C are kiwi. This fruit is readily available at this time of the year. The Lazio region and Italy are the second largest producers of kiwi fruit in the world.
December in Rome is the time of the year to ask for your freshly squeezed orange juice at the bar or caffe. Italy has many varieties of oranges and one of the famous types is the blood oranges from Sicily. Don’t be surprised if your freshly squeezed orange juice arrives a vibrant ruby color.
A second type of produce readily available in December and through to the early spring is the artichoke. There are many roman dishes that use artichokes including carciofo all romana (artichoke roman style) and carciofo all Giudia (Jewish style artichoke).
These two typical Roman dishes use the Carciofo Romanesco variety which is a large meaty variety of artichoke. The Roman style artichoke is simmered in white wine with local herbs. The Jewish style artichoke is deep fried twice. Both are equally delicious if you are an artichoke fan. Both styles often accompany the Christmas day lunch.
January Produce in Rome
Another crucial food is olive oil. Olives in Italy are collected between September and January. Many artisan producers of olive oil will have their fresh harvest available now. This is a great time to sample the fresh production. Italian olive oil is a very special food and is very much an integral part of the Mediterranean diet. Check out my post on Italian olive oil for more info.
February Produce in Rome
February is always an exciting month. The days starting to become longer and the first signs of spring are in the air. One of my favorite types of produce starts to become available at this time of the year. Wild asparagus!
Wild asparagus is something that I only had the opportunity to try after to moving to Italy. Foraging for wild asparagus was something that my neighbor introduced me to and I have to say that I am hooked. I look forward to the tradition of foraging for asparagus every year.
Now, I am fully aware that you are reading this article for tips on your holiday to Rome. I imagine that it is highly unlikely that you will be interested in foraging while you are here. I am sharing this because in some of the best restaurants, in February, you can taste this gorgeous delicacy. You will find it in pasta dishes, risotto and sometimes as an accompaniment to steak dishes.
What to Do in Winter in Rome
Watch December 8 Festivities
December 8 is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. Tradition dictates that the Pope lays a wreath at the statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue sits atop the column of the Immaculate Conception located in Piazza Mignanelli just a few steps from the Spanish Steps.
The Pope has help from the fire department to be able to lay the wreath fortunately. This event draws fairly large crowds so you will want to get there early.
Other events that take place on December 8 is the unveiling of the years Crib or il precepe located in St. Peter’s Square. In addition to the unveiling of the crib or nativity scene you can look forward to the Christmas tree at St. Peter’s being brought to life with it’s lights.
Go Ice Skating in Rome
One place you might be surprised to find ice rinks is at shopping malls. There are two malls that have made a tradition of erecting ice rinks during the winter season. One is Galleria Porta di Roma (via Alberto Lionello 201). The second is Ice Park Euroma 2 (viale dell’Oceano Pacifico, 183)
Auditorium Parco della Musica (Viale Pietro DeCoubertin, 30 ) located in the chic Parioli neighborhood sports an open air ice rink as well. Christmas Wonderland in PratiBus District features lots of indoor events and also an indoor ice rink.
Get your skate on by checking out one of these skate-fully delightful locations.
Visit Museums
Winter is the best time to visit all the museums in Rome. The weather makes it quite pleasant to stay, appreciate and take in the incredible sites and artworks. The flow of visitors decreases considerably too which makes visiting these special places throughly enjoyable.
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums are a top ten most visited museum in the world. With an extensive archeological collection and a paintings collection including the likes of Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci just to name a few. This collection of museums has nothing to be envious of because it contains everything you could possibly be looking for. The main draw to the Vatican Museums of course the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s ceiling. For some more advice on what is the best Vatican tour for you be sure to check out my post on the Best Vatican Tours.
Colosseum and Roman Forum Archeological Park
The entire city of Rome is essentially an open air archeological park and or an art history museum. It is at the Colosseum and Roman Forum Archeological park that you will see the greatest concentration of Republican and Imperial era buildings structures and statues. Walk in the foot steps of the gladiators and the emperors by visiting this open air archeological park.
Borghese Gallery
I have had many occasions where the spouse of someone on my tour of the Borghese gallery came up to me and thanked me for bringing this gallery to life. Followed by, “I am not really that curious or interested in art and art history. You made me excited about it.”
I would love to take 100% credit for this because I am an amazing tour guide. My job though is very easy in this particular gallery. It is probably my favorite art gallery in Rome.
The collection is second to none and it houses a total of six Caravaggio paintings. Housing six Caravaggio’s makes this the only collection in the world to boast this many. Caravaggio is not the only world famous artist you will find here, there are paintings by Raphael, Titian, Ruebens and Correggio. There are a total of nine sculptures by the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
These are just a few of the museums you could visit. Others that might interest you are Palazzo Massimo alla Terme which is all thing archeological relating to the Imperial era. You could visit the Baths of Caracalla or the Baths of Dioclition. Check out the modern art gallery which is called the GNAM for short or the Galleria Nazionale delle Arte Moderne.
Attend Christmas Eve Mass
The most highly sought after Christmas Eve mass is of course located in St. Peter’s Basilica. This is a papal mass meaning that the Pope gives mass from the papal altar in St. Peter’s. To attend is free but you must have a ticket. For these highly sought after tickets, it helps to arrange for them in advance. If your can ask your Catholic priest to help you out with an email even better.
Other ways of obtaining a ticket to Christmas Eve mass are by asking at the Swiss Guard desk inside the colonnade of St. Peter’s square.
Urbi et Orbi Address
Urbi is latin for the city and Orbi is latin for the world. This blessing and talk from the Pope takes place twice per year: once on Easter Sunday and once on Christmas Day. The Pope makes his “To the city (Rome) and to the world” address from the famous balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica that faces the square. Huge crowds gather to hear this address and take part in the special blessing.
My advice is to get there early because you will need to clear security for entering St. Peter’s square.
Shop the Winter in Rome Sales
There are two official sale seasons in Italy. There are the Summer sales and the Winter sales. The winter sale period start varies from region to region. For planning, estimate that winter sales will begin sometime between the 5-15 of January. The official start date for the winter sales any given year can simply be googled.
The sales and discounts you can expect range from 20-70% off. The discounts become deeper getting closer to end of the sale season to rid the merchants of any stock that has not sold up to that point. Check out my post on the Top Ten things to do in Rome which has an extensive section on shopping options.
Visit Christmas Cribs and Nativity Scenes
Christmas Cribs or Nativity scenes are called presepe in Italian. It is a strong tradition to not only put up a tree and Christmas lights but to also prepare a nativity scene at home. The city is no different. All Catholic churches in Italy have a chapel or location dedicated to the Christmas Crib. St. Peter’s Basilica is no different.
The primary Christmas crib is located in St. Peter’s square. Every year there is a donation of a Christmas Crib and it is considered to be a great honor to be selected.
Steps away from St. Peter’s there is an exhibit called 100 Presepi. 100 Presepi is as you can probably already guess an exhibit of at least 100 Christmas cribs from all over the world. This exhibit is free to visit but donations are graciously accepted. More info on this exhibit can be found here.
There are many nativity or cribs located throughout the Rome in churches. As you are wandering around Rome, be sure to drop in to any churches that are open to see their versions of the Nativity scene. This is not a touristy thing to do it is actually a tradition in Italy. Italians make a type of pilgrimage to small hill top towns to see their Christmas Cribs. Many also make their way to Naples which is super famous for their displays of Nativity scenes.
Go to a Hot Spring
As some of you may already know I am a huge hot spring fan. In Italian, hot springs are called terme. Despite the fact that the evening temperatures can be quite chilly, the daytime temperatures especially if it is sunny are a great way to be introduced to the hot springs of Italy. There are many hot springs in Italy. I will be writing a post shortly on the hot springs that are easily accessible from Rome. A dip in steaming waters can be a great way to spend a winter day in Rome.
The hot spring seen above is Oasi Terme and for more info on this beautiful place you can check out their website here.
Another hot spring and spa location in the Viterbo area is Terme dei Papi. Unfortunately there is no English language website for them.
Rome in Winter
I don’t know if you could tell but I highly recommend visiting Rome in winter. There is just so much to see and do. Also, at least in my own experience I was so pleasantly surprised to see how green Rome is in winter time. Everything is so beautifully lush. Let me know in the comments below if you have ever visited Rome in Winter or have a desire to have some more suggestions as to what you can see or do.
From Rome with love
