When is the best time to travel in Italy during the summer?

June is good, as is September (although I'm not sure if you consider that still summer). The heat in August can get very unpleasant – even Italians start to suffer in a heatwave when it hits 40°C (104°F) during the day and never drops below 30°C (86°F) at night. July can be hot too, but it's generally not as bad. Another problem with August is that the staff in restaurants, hotels and such places is starting to suffer from the stress of the peak tourist season. Better to come early before they get tetchy or later after they've recovered some of their composure. The cities are not dead during Ferragosto and things are still open, but a lot of people are on holiday. The beach resorts are jam-packed and thoroughly unpleasant unless you like being just another person in a hot, sweaty mob. I really think you want to avoid this place during Ferragosto. You particularly want to avoid travelling in the period immediately before and after since half of Italy is on the move, which makes roads, trains and, to some extent, the airports pretty unpleasant places. We do our best to hide out at home during August if at all possible. As for beach resorts, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you like the idea of lying on one of the sun-loungers that forms a geometric pattern visible from space along the entire Adriatic coast, then you can pick at random any place between Bari and Rimini and your experience will be much the same as it would anywhere else (a slight exaggeration, but not much!). If you want something expensive and exclusive, check out Portofino. If you want a slightly quieter beach experience, you could check out places in the far-south, which tend to be less popular than those further north. The Amalfi coast near Napoli is also nice, although it can be expensive and crowded. Italy consists of a peninsula with several large islands, so there's no shortage of coastline. What you consider the "best" sort of coast or beach resort might well be exactly the sort of place I'd never consider visiting. Once you have an itinerary in mind for your visit, you could maybe come back here and ask if there are any beach towns near it which are quiet, busy, historic, good for snorkeling or whatever sort of thing appeals to you.

If you go in the south of Italy (Florence, Rome, Neaples, Sicily) the wheather is ok everytime, even if of course in summer there are the best condition ever. But be careful if you go in the north (Venice, Bologna, Milan, Turin) because in winter there's always fog, rain, or snow. About beach: The most famous is Costa Smeralda (Sardinia), here there are a lot of VIPs but it is pretty expensive. Plus: Ostuni or Santa Maria di Leuca (Puglia) or Sicily or Capri or Costiera Amalfitana (near Neaples) avoid beaches in the north... Bye!