Why Italians are simply better at enjoying the summer than the rest of the world.
No other nation has so consistently made summer a way of life: from the spot on the beach that’s been the same for 15 years to the evening stroll. Italy in summer is la dolce vita in its purest form – if you know how.
1. Coping with the heat
Fans instead of air conditioning. Open the shutters in the morning, close them at midday, and open them again in the evening. You head for the shade, not the sun. And you say it at least twenty times a day it's hot — not as a complaint, but as a greeting, a way of starting a conversation and a shared experience. It's hot brings people together. It’s the „Well?“ of the Italian summer.
2. Scorching heat as the norm
The steering wheel is too hot to touch, the seatbelt is a fire hazard, and the air feels like an oven. No Italian thinks to park the car in the shade beforehand. You open all the doors at once, fan yourself briefly with one hand, wait 45 seconds, get in and drive off — air conditioning on full blast, windows still down, music blaring. The ritual is the same everywhere. It unites an entire country.
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Italy’s beaches – a scenic flight
15 kilometres of sandy beach for walking in the Maremma region of Tuscany An evening on the beach at Gallipoli in Apulia 
Sunset in the bay of Polignano a Mare in Apulia 
The Caribbean beach of Porto Cesareo on the Ionian Sea Wow! Sunset on the endless beach of Rimini A sunset by the sea in Tuscany 
In this glamorous lido in Porto Cesareo in Apulia, two sunbeds cost a good 100 euros a day 
It looks like the Caribbean, but it’s actually Apulia – Porto Cesareo 
A classic lido in Rimini... 
Evening atmosphere in Policastro, Campania In Rimini, 90 per cent of the beach is subject to a charge – here, sun loungers are allowed to be left overnight The summer sun over Rimini
3. Ceremony by the sea
Italians don’t just go for a swim on a whim. You go into the sea at specific times — not at midday, never straight after a meal, and always with a certain air of dignity. First the feet, then the legs, then the rest, carefully. Sometimes you just stand there for hours with sunglasses in your hair. Anyone who simply jumps in stands out. After all, the sea is a stage too.
4. Tradition at the beachside café
The Beach parasol — A parasol with two sun loungers — is at the heart of Italian summer life. The same family has been sitting in seat 34, row B, for 15 years. Naturally, they’ve known their neighbours on the left and right for years. There’s gossip, watermelon to share, and a strict protocol governing who goes into the water, when and with whom. The beach is the living room by the sea.
5. The Call of the Coconut
When it’s 35 degrees and you’ve been lying there for two hours, there comes a point when you just want a split open coconut with a straw — right this very moment. No Italian is going to get up for that. You raise a hand and call out cocco bello! Afterwards, the man arrives. He splits the coconut open with a single blow of his machete, sticks a straw in it, takes two euros and is gone again before you’ve even taken your first sip.
6. Every village festival is included
In summer, every village holds its own festival. Sagra del Cinghiale, Sagra della Porchetta, Sagra del Pesce. Plastic tables under fairy lights, wine from a jerrycan, roast meat cooked by a man who’s been standing at the barbecue for six hours and looks as if he’s grown into the spot. Entry is free. Half the village is there. See and be seen: Italian village life in action.
7. The summer night turns into day
In summer, life only really gets going once the heat has eased off — so definitely not before 8 pm, and usually later. That’s when the children come out, the grandmothers sit outside their front doors, and the bars start to fill up. At midnight, families with young children are still sitting down to dinner. Summer belongs to the night — anyone who’s already in bed at 10 pm is missing out.
8. Watermelon — and nothing else
When the heat is unbearable, Italians don’t eat anything hot. A slice of cold watermelon straight from the fridge, eaten right over the sink so the juice doesn’t splash everywhere — that’s lunch. That’s it. Anyone who wants to eat a full plate of pasta at 1 pm in August will get a pitying look from every nonna. She’s standing there herself with the Anguria above the sink.
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9. Granita for breakfast
In Sicily and large parts of southern Italy, granita is served in the morning: a semi-frozen treat made with almonds, lemon or pistachios, served with a brioche. Ice cream for breakfast. With bread. Eaten standing up at the bar, in five minutes. Once you’ve tried it, you won’t want anything else in the summer mornings.
10. Ferragosto — whatever the cost
15 August is the holiest day of the Italian summer. The whole of Italy goes on holiday — all at the same time. The motorways grind to a halt, the beaches are so packed that you can barely see the sea, the towns are deserted, and hotel prices quadruple. No Italian would Ferragosto Skip it — it would be social suicide. So you drive. Get stuck in traffic. Sweat. And still enjoy it.
Have a lovely summer – buon estate!
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