By Clare Speak TheLocal
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points from Italy that you might not have heard about. It鈥檚 published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
How do Italians handle the heat? Effortlessly, it seems. As with food, there鈥檚 a generational knowledge, with an unwritten list of time-tested dos and don’ts that are largely followed and rarely up for debate.
Such unwritten rules only seem to come up in conversation when Italians see foreign visitors getting things wrong.
And, after living in southern Europe for a decade, I鈥檝e come to agree with them that there really is a 鈥榬ight鈥 and ‘wrong’ way to do things. Timing matters. Getting all of your errands done by 11am, resting in the afternoon, keeping shutters closed during the day, going out for the evening once the temperature falls.
I鈥檝e learned through bitter experience that keeping these things in mind means you stand a chance of enjoying summer, rather than suffering and complaining through it.
Of course, not everyone in Italy does all of this. But many newcomers are surprised to find that cities really are largely deserted by Italian residents in August, and that the afternoon siesta tradition is alive and well in most parts of the country.
And not all of the rules are set in stone, it turns out.
It was interesting to read in Italian media this week that there鈥檚 been some controversy and debate over certain summertime habits that have apparently become more popular in recent years.
One high-profile Italian doctor insisted this week that cold showers and iced drinks were a bad idea, fans should be used sparingly, and sleeping naked was a complete no-no (light cotton pyjamas will keep the sweat off your skin, he said.)
Italian social media was divided. My mother-in-law鈥檚 opinions remained unshaken.
But, while Italians may disagree about whether water should be served at room temperature or from the fridge in high summer (you鈥檒l often be given both options at Italy鈥檚 restaurants), back home in England this week, the difference in attitudes to the heat was striking.
As summers get hotter, many people in normally cooler climes will need to be better prepared. And, in fact, British media published a flurry of articles this week on the topic of what we could learn from southern Europe about coping in the heat.
Some of the published advice on doing as Italians do was, I thought, accurate and useful, if unlikely to be followed by many. Eat more fruit, get out of town and head for the mountains, wear long, loose clothing made of cotton or linen.
Some of the tips were more questionable. For example The Telegraph, in an article detailing the various ways in which people 鈥渙n the continent鈥 handle the heat, told British readers that Italians would spray their bedsheets with water, or walk around wearing a wet t-shirt. It’s very difficult to imagine any Italian I know doing this sort of thing.
As for me, while I take a lot more care in the sun now, the unexciting reality is that I spend most of the summer indoors, working, in an air-conditioned building. And, yes, occasionally having gelato for lunch, on the official advice of the Italian health ministry.
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Italy that you might not have heard about. It鈥檚 published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.