The "trick" isn't really a trick at all, but rather involves, among other things, a different daily routine:
- Get up early when it's still cool and open all the windows wide to let the cool air into the apartment. That's why most houses in Italy have fairly heavy, light-blocking shutters - they keep the house cool inside.
- Work until 12:00 p.m. if necessary, go home, and take a midday nap (this is the time when tourists still drag themselves across the piazza, even in the hottest weather...).
- At 4:00 p.m., continue working until closing time if necessary. Then dinner, which, due to this rhythm, can sometimes start as late as 9:00 p.m. or later.
It's actually a no-brainer, but if you can adapt this to your own routine in a hot climate, you'll get through the day feeling far less drained by the heat.
Cult brand
Prickly Heat from Thailand
Borotalco
Deodorant Powder - a must-have
On arrival in Italy, the first stop is the drugstore to buy Borotalco.
A true cult product in a green bottle. Perfect for dusting the inside of your shoes so they don't get smelly in the heat. It's also much more comfortable to walk in them when they aren't soaked in sweat.
You may order Borotalco from Amazon, which is great, but nothing can replace the shopping experience in a crammed grocery store on the Adriatic coast, be it in Caorle, Venice or Pula.
There is only one other product that can compete with Borotalco: Prickly Heat Powder, a talcum powder from Thailand (with a strong camphor and menthol scent), which, unfortunately, is hard to find in Europe.
Both work great as deodorant powders. Highly recommended.
If you think this sounds like an advertisement: You're right, because it IS an advertisement. However, we don't receive any money for it; we simply think Borotalco is great and Prickly Heat, too.