Guide to surviving an Italian summer

I am constantly thinking about summer in Italy. Ever since my first Italian summer two years ago, I’ve been hooked. L’estate italiana is just incomparable. And maybe it’s because this year was the longest, snowiest winter of my life or because I’m sorely missing Italy, but every day I find myself thinking about this summer in Italy. I literally can’t wait.

The other day I was talking to one of my fellow digital nomad friends, who typically spends spring and fall in Italy but hasn’t dipped too far into the summer months, about this summer in Italy. She is always shocked that I have spent the past two summers in Rome (ROME 🥵) without air conditioning.

But as I always tell her, my body adjusts within the first couple weeks, and then by the time the summer comes to an end I’m wearing a leather jacket when it starts to get chilly (and by that I mean when the temperature drops to 80 Fahrenheit, 26 Celsius…).

Inspired by the conversation with her, and recalling some voice memos I made at the beginning of last summer when I was getting back into the swing of things, I decided to finally publish this blog—and start a whole series of summer in Italy posts to share about my favorite season in my favorite place.

A lot of these are tips I tell my Italy travel planning clients if they’re visiting in the summer, and ones my friends and I live by each summer. By the time you’ve lived a couple of summers in Italy, you start to understand the rhythm and the traditions and you flow with it. You start to understand the exodus from the city and spend more time by the sea. You take a couple cold showers every day and you wear less clothing. By the end of this blog, you’ll understand it too.

Living

The basics

Wear sunscreen
Protect your scalp with a hat or bandana (or sunscreen on your hair—still looking for a good suggestion for this if anyone has one)
Carry deodorant and/or body spray with you
Only the strong can make it with natural deodorant, so props to you if you’re one of them

Clothing & shoes

I should dedicate a whole blog to this one (and I will) but for now, let’s just say, it’s best to wear as few clothes as possible, LOL. I actually tell people this though. Also, consider the material of your clothes. Will they show sweat? I even learned that black clothes I thought wouldn’t show anything can actually become streaked with white marks from the salt in your sweat (seriously…!).

Comfortable platform sandals are the way to go for me. Sneakers are always good too for the days you’re walking a lot, and never wear flip-flops unless you’re literally at the beach.

Cold showers are king

You will, inevitably, take at least two showers each day just to cool down. I usually take a cold shower after running around for the day, before I head to dinner. Then usually another one when I get home later, to rinse off the sweat and feel fresh before I hop in bed.

Life without AC

First of all, I have good news: Your body will adjust without air conditioning. Trust me, I am living proof. It takes a week or two, but soon your body will become used to the lack of cold air in your living quarters. Living without AC is truly an art and a science though, LOL. Here is my best advice:

Whenever it’s cool, open your windows to let the breeze in (typically at night and early morning)
Depending on what kind of windows you have, you can open the glass windows but close the shutters (and the curtains) to keep mosquitoes out
Leave your windows open with the curtains closed when you go out to dinner, you’ll come back to a cool room
Place a fan in front of the window to let in cool air
During the day, stay in front of the fan at all times
If you’re not home during the day, leave the shutters shut (or pull the blinds down, again depending on the window type) to block the sun and keep the interiors cool
Whenever the heat becomes too much, a cold shower will solve it

Find the shade

Find the shade, l’ombra…sit in it, walk in it, savour it. The shade will become your best friend, especially on the days you leave the house and forget your sunscreen.

Avoid the heat of the day

If you’re going to plan one thing during your summer days in Italy, it’s where you’ll spend the heat of the day. Usually, this is around 12 to 2 pm, and it becomes brutal to be outside (also a time of day I always forget to put sunscreen on and end up getting burned while I’m out running errands).

Plan to spend the heat of the day in a cold place: churches, museums, indoors at a restaurant, or back at your air-conditioned Airbnb or hotel. It’s really no joke at this time of day, and what I’ve found is that being out at that time makes me more exhausted and I usually need a nap to cool down and regain my energy.

The art of the fan

You know that scene from Princess Diaries with the fan? Rewatch it before you head to Italy this summer because you will soon see every fashionable person with a fan. They are literally ESSENTIAL for surviving the heat in the summer (and drying the inevitable sweat that will happen on your way to dinner).

Buy a collapsible fan that fits in your purse or bag (last summer I bought a pack of 12 on Amazon and gave them to all my friends because I am that girl) and carry it with you at all times. Some days it’s so hot I’m using the fan the entire day, as I walk, as I sit at the cafe, on the bus…you get the picture. Sometimes you can find a cute one that isn’t paper—I snagged a good one last year on the Aeolian Islands that I will be using this whole summer.

Eating & drinking

Always, always have a water bottle

It’s annoying but I always carry a water bottle in the summer, no matter what. I’m bad and often stop for 50-cent plastic ones from the mini market (but I always try to reuse them for a few days before I recycle them, okay?).

For the beach, however, I always have my Hydroflask. Having an insulated water bottle is essential and on days when I know I’ll be at the beach all day, I pack my Hydroflask full of cold water, then bring a full plastic one too, which I drink first.

If you’re in Rome (and some other cities), the fountains will be your best friend during the summer. Refill your bottle whenever you see one and enjoy the fresh Roman aqueduct water (full of calcium!).

Iced coffee?

Iced coffee seems to be elusive for a lot of people who visit Italy in the summer. While you won’t find anything like Starbucks at a regular bar (please don’t go to Starbucks while you’re in Italy), there are a number of drinks you can order at most bars that are so good. And while this probably deserves a whole post, here are the best cold coffee drinks to order during the warmer months:

Caffè shakerato—espresso shaken with ice, nice and foamy usually
Caffè freddo—cold espresso, sometimes sugar is already added or they’ll ask if you’d like with sugar (zuccherato) or without
Caffè latte macchiato con ghiaccio—espresso with milk and ice (probably closest to an American latte you would find at an Italian bar), pronounced cafe latte ma-key-at-o con gee-ach-o
Crema di caffè—literally one of my favorites, especially in the summer, this is basically espresso in gelato form…sooo good!!
Frappè—espresso blended with ice, not all places will have this

Otherwise, it’s always acceptable to just order:

Un caffè—a shot of espresso
Un cappuccino—espresso and a little milk/foam (just remember it’s usually frowned upon to order a cappuccino after eating—Italians are obsessed with their digestion haha)

Try lemon soda & salt

Last summer after a series of days spent outside during the heat of the day (poor planning on my part, I also have to force myself to stay home sometimes because when I’m living in Rome all I want to do is be out and about), I found myself feeling sooo dehydrated in a way I never had been before.

I made an Insta story asking my European friends how they survive the summer. Because let’s be honest, in North America you’re usually just moving from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned store or restaurant or whatever. So I needed practical advice on how to deal with the heat when walking is my main mode of transportation and I had no AC at home.

One piece of advice I got from Gillian McGuire (if you don’t follow her on Insta you should) was to mix salt with lemon soda. I had heard about drinking salt water before, but it’s not very appealing. Instead she told me about mixing salt with lemon soda (which is supreme in Italy) and honestly, it’s kind of a great combination. So, I started drinking this whenever I felt dehydrated. Though sometimes a blue Powerade will do, too. Or Liquid IV, which I recently got hooked on, especially for hangovers.

Late dinners

You’ve probably heard that Italians eat dinner late. This is even more true in the summer, when it seems everything happens later. Plan to eat dinner around 9 pm or after, when the heat of the day (might be) somewhat gone and you can enjoy your meal outside. If you’re in Southern Italy, push that to 10 pm…I’ve found myself eating dinner at 11:30 pm on holiday in Calabria, but that probably shouldn’t be the norm lol.

Traveling

Escape the city

I hate to say it, but there’s a reason all the Italians leave the cities in the summer. And if you’re there, you’ll understand why. Sweating it out in the cities is bound to happen, but if you have time in your itinerary, I highly suggest checking out the seaside pretty much anywhere in Italy, though my favorite spot is Calabria. There are so many beautiful beaches close to Rome too, which I’ll share soon on the blog. It makes escaping the heat for even just the day a fun adventure.

Experience Italian beach culture

Beach culture in Italy deserves a whole post, so I won’t get into it here. But, it’s important to know that most beaches in Italy have a private section, with beach chairs and umbrellas for rent, and a public section, where you can lay your towel down on the sand for free. I’ll get into it more in another blog though, and I hope everyone can enjoy Italian beach culture at least once in their life. It’s truly something else—with rituals built in that make it just so Italian.

Party

Outdoor clubs

Many clubs or discoteche move outside in the summer. So, the places you go in the winter might be closed for the season, while new ones pop-up during the warmer months. In Rome, you’ll find a lot of new bars and clubs along the river, from Castel Sant’Angelo all the way to Ponte Milvio. I won’t reveal my favorites here though, but send me a DM if you’re curious.

Staying up late

Like I mentioned before, everything happens later in the summer. Clubs are open until 4 am typically, and sometimes the party doesn’t end until the sun starts rising (preferably over the sea, while on holiday). So I highly recommend taking a nap while you’re at the beach, if you want to make it all the way till the sun comes up.

Holidays

La notte di San Lorenzo

The 11th of August is one of the most magical nights of the year, and a special holiday in Italy. It’s known as the night of the shooting stars, since meteor showers are very common around that date. Many Italians go on holiday in August and so beach parties are popular on this night, so you can see as many shooting stars as possible without lights around.

Ferragosto

The beginning of the end, Ferragosto is the summer holiday that takes place on August 15th that has both ancient Roman roots and Catholic ones. Beach parties are common for this holiday too, since it’s really the party to celebrate summer.