Dear Mary I would say that Rome isn't very representative of Mediterranean climate in Italy. A better choice would have been Naples (west side of Italy), Palermo (in the middle of the basin -western part) and Bari (east side). The months with higer rainfalls are actually November and March-April, while middle winter is comparatively more dry. The eastern side (Bari) is drier then the western side of the same latitude (Naples) and to quote Lauw, Naples and Palermo are among the best citrus areas, while Bari is for olive trees. Angelo