Is Italy too hot in August?

A couple of people have ended up on my Blog as a result of searching for information about the heat in Italy in August. The answer is: Well, it depends…. The big cities can be hell in summer - they do not cool down at all at night either. On the other hand, if you stay near the lakes or head up above 1000 meters or so, you will find that things cool off very nicely and you can actually sleep at night. And it does depend on where you are from.  If, for example, you come from Australia, then you may find the July and August heat quite bearable, whereas if you come from the UK or Norway, you may find the heat oppressive.  I have not mentioned numbers, because they are not that important.  For example an Australian may find 40°C fine, whereas an Englishman, like me, would fine the same temperature a little too hot for comfort.

The heat in the northern part of Italy is humid, whereas in the south the heat is drier, and thus slightly more bearable. Slightly.

And watch out if you do find yourself out in the sun, especially if you are not so young any more or if you come from a country with a cool climate. Drink plenty of water. If your pee starts to go very dark yellow, you are not drinking enough liquid. Not the prettiest of advice, I know, but apparently the SAS (you know, that UK elite fighting force) give their members the same tip. If it is good enough for them, it’s good enough for me and you.

If you come in May, late September and October then you should not have to worry too much about dehydration as these are possibly the best months to come here especially if you want to range far and wide. April can be OK, but it may rain. March is not too bad, but it can be cold. From November to February, unless you are into skiing, or the cold does not worry you, the weather here in northern Italy can be rather similar to a UK winter, that is, grey and overcast.  However, down south the climate can be good and mild and it is not unheard of for Sicilians to go for a dip in the Med in Feb.  Although you may find it difficult to find a hotel that is open in this period due to it being well out of season.

June, July, and August. Three words: hot, hot, hot. Head for the hills.

A winning streak

According to many nice men with African sounding names who represent various well know companies and lotteries, I have several million pounds coming my way. All I have to do is send them a few personal details, a sample of my DNA and all my PIN numbers and my life will become worry free. Boy, am I tempted. Not.

Yes, the number of 419 scam emails dropping into my mail box has tripled recently. Most are caught as spam, but one or two get through the net and some are almost written well enough to be convincing. Just as well that I know English better than most of these types, but I pity those with less knowledge of the English language. I bet many non-mother tongue English speakers end up being caught in the traps of these dubious types.

Life on the dark side of the WWW. Not nice, and increasing. Potentially the rewards of cyber crime are galactic and I wonder just how many have been tempted onto the murky side of something which can provide so many people with so much.

As is often the case, the few will ruin things for the majority, and the freedom which the WWW enjoys at present is likely to be all but eliminated in the future. But I hope not.

It’s a love hate thing

Living in Italy. Today, I had a chat with someone who has spent 25 years in the Living Museum, and although you might expect someone who has been here so long to be used to Italy’s oft unruly ways, it sounds as though this person still becomes frustrated at the disorganisation of the place. Maybe I do not need to mention it, but this person comes from an Anglo-Saxon culture and, it appears that some people from such cultures find the Italian way of life something of a challenge. The person I mentioned above is not alone, and I’m not just talking about long-stay ex-pats. I know of Italians who have spent time in the US and the UK and either never want to return here, or long to return to the perceived ‘normality’ of Anglo-Saxon cultures.

Yet the Living Museum remains an attractive place to live for many. The sheer beauty of the place is intoxicating and this alone can justify making your life here. Other things that can smooth the way considerably are having a well stocked bank account and/or an armful of patience. If you can leave Italians to deal with the bureaucratic stuff; there are agencies that make a nice living doing all the silly bureaucratic bits and bobs which need to be done here; you can live exceptionally well.

On the other hand, if you end up having too many run-ins with the disorganised aspects of the place, you may well end up running away. I know too that there are ex-pats who would never dream of getting together with an Italian girl or boy, which is probably quite wise. In fact, I know quite a few stories of Italo-foreigner relationships that have gone completely pear shaped, mainly as a result of differences related to the way Italians and others run their lives.

Personally, I feel that I have only really encountered some of the more idiosyncratic aspects of Italian culture after having had a child here. Up until then the cultural differences where pretty minor and utterly bearable. Since the arrival of my son, however, cultural differences have made the road rather rocky at times. Although I should say that I am no angel and some, er, difficult aspects of my own sweet character have not done me too many favours. Mix that with someone who was once told by his boss that he hated compromising and you have a recipe for a windy (wiggly) and bumpy path at times.

Happily, I also know of some Italo-foreigner relationships which have worked out and the old adage ‘love conquers all’ does seem to have played a part in this. ‘Give and take’ is necessary in most relationships, but in mixed cultural ones, particularly where one side does not always appreciate the ways of the other, the level of give and take can become unbalanced and lead to almost inevitable fractures.

Unless you are highly resilient, adaptable and exceptionally broad minded, I would advise Anglo-Saxon types to be wary of getting together with those from the Living Museum. Life could become a nightmare, or paradise on Earth.

Go on, choose that straw…