Beating the heat in Rome

Despite crowds and heat, summertime in Rome can be a great time to visit and enjoy the brilliant blue skies, incredible long days, beautiful sunsets, and dining and drinking al fresco that is such an integral part of life in Rome.  When the temperatures start climbing, here are some suggestions I have for keeping cool in the Eternal City.

Cool & Quiet

Escape into one of Rome’s many churches. Rome has hundreds of them, although many are closed during lunchtime hours. The cool marble, the dim lighting and plenty of seating, churches offer the perfect refuge to just be quiet and still and recover from the heat.

Nasoni

Nasoni. The translation of this is “big noses”. These fountains found throughout Rome have potable cold water – a great way to cool off, and there’s an app that shows you their location. Tap water here is clean and perfectly drinkable although restaurants may try to convince you otherwise. If you prefer tap water at a restaurant, ask for water “dal rubinetto”(from the tap). Refill a water bottle and reduce plastic waste. To see how the locals drink from the nasoni check out this cute little video with our daughters with one of our friends and her dog that we made several years ago.

NB: Please refrain from sticking your feet into one of Rome’s many historical fountains. It’s truly bad form and at the least, you will get major stink eye from others and at worst you could be fined.

Public Parks

Rome has loads of accessible and gorgeous public parks with lots of shady spaces to have a picnic and take an afternoon snooze. There’s the Villa Borghese, Villa Torlonia, Villa Celimontana, Villa Ada and Villa Doria Pamphili to name a few. You can read about our favorite deli near The Beehive to pick up made to order sandwiches and other picnic items.

Timing is everything

Avoid sightseeing during the hottest parts of the day which are generally 11am to 4pm. This photo is of me (and my youngest daughter Viola) at the Statue of Liberty in August 2006 not following my own advice. Get an early start before it gets too hot and take a pause around noon and go to lunch. Afterward, head back to your room if you can and have a siesta. Your body will love you for it. If you’re too far away from your accommodation, hit up a museum instead, but keep in mind that many are not air-conditioned. Shops stay open late until about 8pm and many museums don’t close until 7 or 7:30pm.

Gelato

Of course I had to mention this! My preference in the summer is for fruit flavors which are refreshing as dairy based flavors can actually make you thirstier. Fragola & limone (strawberry & lemon) are a classic combo. Another refreshing favorite is grattachecca – shaved ice (see photo at the top of the post).  Many of these stands can be found along the Tiber river. There’s also granita – a Sicilian treat and which can be found at some Roman gelaterias such as Gelateria dei Gracchi (listed on our app) in the summer months.

Vitamin Sea

 As a last resort, escape to the seaside for the day or to one of Rome’s outdoor swimming pools.  The nearest most accessible seaside which isn’t totally toxic is Santa Severa and Santa Marinella, both about an hour north of Rome. Santa Severa’s beaches are free and sandy with a 15th-century castle turned hostel located on the beach. At Santa Marinella, the beaches are rocky and in the summer you’ll have to pay an entrance fee to the beach and extra for a lounge chair and an umbrella. For cleaner water and a pretty historic center, there’s Sperlonga which is a bit further afield being a train and a bus ride away, but very worthwhile if you have extra time.

Updated 19 June 2019