The Brits have always decamped to Italy en masse in the summer on the promise of guaranteed heat and sun, something they traditionally couldn’t count on across their green, pleasant and often-damp island. Climate change has altered that equation. While still dependable, the Italian heat is hotter and the sun more brutal.
I find myself in Tuscany as a heat wave named after the hound who guards the gates of hell, Cerberus, blasts temperatures over 40, starts to exact a death toll, and pushes daily highs towards historic records. Brits rarely experience days above 22 (72) at home, and while Americans … who flood through Italy in their summer holidays … often come from places with extreme heat, they’re used to near-ubiquitous air conditioning. What’s a visitor to do to cope with the extremes?
STAY OUT OF CITIES
Admittedly a bit of a problem if your itinerary is set and hotel booked, but do everything you can to avoid city centres. Florence’s black paving stones and stolid stone palazzi are lovely to look at but they radiate heat as effectively as an Aga. Add motor vehicles and crowds of tourists and even basic sightseeing becomes physically challenging. Get into the countryside and temperatures will immediately go down a bit. Hill towns are likely to catch a bit of a breeze. No place is comfortable right now, but elevated, less crowded spots like Volterra or Montepulciano are operating at less of an extreme.
A rental villa in the countryside, like our Lampone Cottage in the Pian del Lago between Monteriggioni and Siena, is the ideal. As I sit typing this in a centuries-old converted farm building, thick stone walls and terracotta floors do a remarkably effective job balancing temperature. (And show how Italians can cope without air conditioning.) Opening windows and doors not in direct sun and letting the breeze blow through further improves things.
SKEW YOUR DAYS EARLY AND LATE
Anglo-Saxons often express frustration with the mid-day closure in much of Southern Europe, when everything shutters for a few hours. Experience a heat wave like this and it will all make sense. It’s crazy, and probably dangerous, to be sightseeing in the middle of the day.
Get up early. Stay up late. Take a nap in between. If you can manage it, doze in some shade next to a swimming pool.
The early hours are magical. Colours haven’t yet been bleached by the fierce sun and the air retains some coolness from the night. Tourist attractions may not be open yet but if you’re in towns or cities, sightseers rarely emerge betore 10 am giving you fabulous photos and pleasant walks.
At the other end of the day, the locals come out. Old men sit on benches in the shade gossiping. Families are out for their passegiata, a communal evening stroll. Restaurants spill into the streets and squares, and queues trail back from gelato stands. The local medieval festival in Monteriggioni, near our villa, didn’t open until 4 pm and was only getting crowded when we left at 8. Making the most of the early and late hours not only keeps you cooler, but gives you a truer feel for Italian life.
RENT A CAR
Many people … particularly Americans … get very nervous about hiring cars in Italy. Yes, the local drivers are fast and aggressive. Yes, many regions feature roads that slither back and forth like a tub of serpents. But the roads are generally in good repair and a car is the gateway to off-the-beaten-track experiences. More importantly, in the heart of a heat wave it offers an insulated, air-conditioned box. And given the general lack of air conditioning in Italy’s hotels and holiday rentals, your car may become your only reliable refuge from the heat.
We adjusted our plans to build in more driving and less exploring on foot. Tuscany is full of spectacular views. If you take your time, keep an eye open for lay-bys and pull in regularly, you’ll be able to snap some great shots … or merely appreciate the scene.
Whoever does the PR for the Val d’Orcia has done an amazing job promoting the stretch of road between San Quirico and Pienza. It is pretty, and there’s one particular villa in the fields with a white marble chapel to one side that’s so familiar it’s practically a logo for the whole region. But if you’re going between the wine towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano (the main reason for being in this bit of Tuscany), we found a little detour beyond Montalcino to the Abbazia di Sant‘Antimo to be more beautiful; particularly views down on the abbey itself, an ancient Romanesque building bleached white in a valley of golds and greens.
The road from Greve-in-Chianti up to the Castello Montefiorelle, then along to Badia Passignano and on to Sambuca before joining the highway is truly spectacular and could be a day in itself if you stopped along the route to explore. The road from Colle di Val d’Elsa to Volterra is another blockbuster, particularly around sunset. This route also offers a picturesque view of San Gimignano without having to brave its crowds.
TAKE ICE SERIOUSLY
If you’ve rented a villa, you’re likely to have a full-sized refrigerator and freezer. Make the most of the latter. Make new ice at least twice a day, on waking and before going to bed. Get a bowl or a bag in there and keep it full. Only have one ice tray? Explore your cupboards for anything that could make good cubes. (We’ve had four plastic tumblers turning out eight giant ones a day, ideal for serving limoncello spritzes in pint glasses. Inelegant, but effective.)
As you empty plastic water bottles, re-fill them and freeze them. Taking a frozen bottle with you first thing should ensure you have cool water all morning. Don’t want to wait for the initial melt? Fill the bottle 3/4 full, freeze it at an angle (avoiding the cap, or you won’t be able to twist it off) and fill the empty bit with water just before you head out.
You can fashion a cooler bag for the car by putting several frozen bottles in a towel, and then into a bag. If you have a fan, positioning it so it will blow over a bowl of ice will make the room cooler. (You can literally freeze a whole bowl of water to make this trick effective.) And if you’re having a miserable time sleeping in a hot room, you can freeze a two litre bottle of ice solid, wrap it in a towel and use it as a pillow; it will bring your whole body temperature down.
BE SENSIBLE ABOUT FOOD AND DRINK
Tourists in Italy inevitably default to pasta and pizza. With good reason. I could happily eat tagliatelle with cinghiale ragu, a local specialty, every day of my holiday. But real Italians no more exist on a diet of heavy carbohydrates than Brits start each day with a full English breakfast. A carb-heavy diet is a particularly bad idea in hot weather, where you’ll be sluggish and possibly feel ill as your metabolism struggles to digest the bulk. Take a tip from the locals and default to items like cold meat and cheese platters, melon and prosciutto or insalata caprese. (If you want to know how to survive in Italy without pork products or … heaven forfend … as a vegan, you’re going to have to find someone else’s blog. I haven’t a clue.)
In this weather you’ll understand why Italians eat so much ice cream. While you might not adopt the Sicilian habit of having it for breakfast in a brioche bun, you will find it both cools you down and gives you a lighter-than-carbs energy boost to keep going.
Alcohol, of course, isn’t a good thing in excessive heat since it can provoke dehydration, high blood pressure and dizziness. When temperatures soar, one glass of wine can carry the same punch as two or three. Start by focusing on your water. In extreme heat you should be drinking at least two litres a day, if not more. Though it’s more famous for its wine, Italy is like the rest of the world in having a thriving new culture of micro-breweries. There are lots of local offerings to try. The Brasseria del Grifone in Volterra is an excellent example of this new trend, with a variety of styles brewed on site by a local who will happily talk you through his range.
If you are here for the wine, drink less of it and think about doing it once you’ve finished sightseeing and are established wherever you’re staying in the relative cool of the evening.
Even if you follow all of these tips, travel in Italy is challenging when the temperatures soar. I confess to breathing a sigh of relief that I’m heading back to cool, rainy England as next week’s temperatures push toward the record. These tips allowed us to avoid the worst of the trauma this week and may help others as another summer of climate change pushes visitors to the edge of endurance.
The best tip of all, however? Plan your trip in May or late September.
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