Italy’s summer weather forecast predicts cooler than average temperatures during the vacation season.
The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast an ½ûÂþÌìÌà summer with warm spells broken up by cooler periods of high precipitation.
Before trading in your beach clothes for an umbrella, climatologists caution that seasonal predictions are not always reliable.
The trends, however, do suggest that the summer weather will bring heavy rains to northern Italy and parts of Spain, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
The severe heat waves will probably be concentrated north of the Alps, leaving Italy comfortably warm.
Don't worry though - an occasional rainy day will still leave plenty of time to visit all of Italy’s best beaches.