Agree with your plea 1000 percent. I host occasional small group (6-12 people) culinary tours in Liguria and Abruzzo. The tours take place in April/May or Sept/Oct and we generally try to steer clear of tourist hot spots (like Cinque Terre). I believe the cruise industry is in part to blame for this situation. Their monstrous shops disgorge thousands of people onto Italy's ports, then bus them to Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, etc. for the day. They cause endless destruction.
It's not just one industry it's a combination of horrible management in Italy, Airbnb, Instagram, and your companies that won't stop selling Vatican tours and promoting other things. And it's travelers themselves who don't care.
We very much enjoyed visiting Tufaio winery in Zagarolo, Lazio with you in 2018. You also took us to beautiful Nemi and introduced us to the shape of pasta known as the ‘priest strangler’. It was one of our best days in Italy ever and only a few miles outside of Rome! We tell people all the time, but they have a list of ‘must sees’ in Rome and consequently miss out on the BEST parts of Italy. You must visit these small towns and villages. You won’t be sorry. They are spectacular.
I think the U.K. school holiday system should change. Holidays should be broken up so that families can visit in the spring and autumn. Perhaps different towns have different holiday times. That would help reduce the number of visitors in the summer.
We do have 2-week stretches at Christmas and Easter, but the former is prohibitively expensive and the latter precedes Serious Exam Season when GCSE & Sixth Form students are buckling down and revising. Our main family holiday always used to be at Easter, but we’re stuck with August for a couple more exam cycles to come.
With the way summers are going globally, we may need to consider changing school year holiday times. Certainly it is safer for kids to be in AC rooms than excruciating heat.
Yes to all of this. I always encourage people to visit Rome’s lesser known museums. There are so many! And to take day trips in Lazio as well. I love to bring friends and family to the Castelli Romani and Tuscia.
Yup. Best months are May and October or June and September. Although ghostly November is also very atmospheric. And of course winter is fab if you are drawn to snow. But for the heat of summer, probably best to sink into the nearest cold water and sit it out with a glass full of Aperol and chunks of ice and mint so vibrant it is sprouting shoots. But on the other hand the Amalfi coast or Puglia in summer are just glorious in high summer- bottle green water with the sun bouncing off the waves like the pop of paparazzi cameras. Opps. May be it’s less about the temperatures and more about the what you wear and do, and above all, don’t try and ‘do’ Italy in hurry. To be properly experienced, Italy must be savoured- from scented air to exploded taste buds…
Actually, I often wonder what exactly are doing some tourists anyhow anywhere: they eat pancake and avocado toasts at instagrammable places (queuing sometimes for hours for a table, at least in Lisbon), they go to museums to take pictures to three or four paintings, and a selfie, they eat ice cream and call it “gelato” even if they are in Andalusia, they flock to places that serve pad Thai and pizza side by side, unironically (the owner is neither Thai nor Italian), they go drink a cocktail at any “oysters and cocktail” bar and they could have been anywhere else because what they do as “experience” is just a copy of something they could have done elsewhere. Pizza in Italy (now: trapizzino, cornetto and spritz) can be pastel de nata in Portugal and churros in Spain and croissant in France and…
As a guide working in and around Tokyo I sympathize and totally agree - don’t come to Tokyo after the rainy season. Any other time is great, even winter, but no one goes out and about from mid July to mid September except to the north, the mountains or at night for festivals.
Thank you SO much for writing this. I live in Turin and during July it is absolutely horrendous. We don’t get quite such high temperatures (but 35-38C is becoming normal) but the humidity is hellish (60-75% is normal). We won’t have visitors during July & August as they simply won’t enjoy it and neither will we. Most days in these months of hell see me making very early morning forays to the market then spending the rest of the day behind shutters. Air con is available but a) it’s expensive and b) power cuts! The upside is I lose weight and get lots of reading done. I feel for tour guides and everyone working in the industry but for the love god, don’t come to Italy in July!
I am currently disabled due to crohns disease so I am unable to work because it causes severe arthritis and I am grateful? It's crazy. I ended up getting AC because I have elderly dogs and now I rarely leave the house in the summer. Up there I know severe weather has been horrible for wine and agriculture. It's a mess.
Sending much sympathy - it must be horrendous for you. Yes, we have had problems with grape growing although at least this year things seem a little better. Monoculture, especially rice and maize on the plain, has much to answer for but the government seems unable or unwilling to face the inevitable outcome. Roll on autumn! 🍂🍁🍂🍁
This is why I support this Ultima Generazione Kids. They are doing the work we should have been doing twenty years ago. And Italy is sold out to corporate profit, we just have Healthcare so we don't notice as much, but even that system is going down the drain.
I run a cocoa and vanilla farm in Belize and we run farm tours. It’s now cooler in Belize in July and August than a good deal of the Continental US. Time to also rethink the time we take school holidays as well. Traditionally it was so schoolchildren could help with summer harvests. I think that ship sailed long ago.
I feel incredibly validated reading this post. When I moved to Italy last summer, I was literally shocked by the heat and the crowds. I was so over stimulated and my friends and family in the US thought I was being dramatic. I felt physically unwell due to the heat and I didn’t even have a job and required me to be outside. You bring up so many amazing points here.
I would love connect about Georgia because I love the outdoors and am looking for some cooler weather summer escapes for July and August!
Georgia is also gross in the summer unless you go to the mountains. We had to get AC a few years back because the dogs were suffering so badly from the heat. I spend as much time at the lake as possible, more than the sea because even the sea is too fucking warm here!!!
Agree with your plea 1000 percent. I host occasional small group (6-12 people) culinary tours in Liguria and Abruzzo. The tours take place in April/May or Sept/Oct and we generally try to steer clear of tourist hot spots (like Cinque Terre). I believe the cruise industry is in part to blame for this situation. Their monstrous shops disgorge thousands of people onto Italy's ports, then bus them to Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, etc. for the day. They cause endless destruction.
It's not just one industry it's a combination of horrible management in Italy, Airbnb, Instagram, and your companies that won't stop selling Vatican tours and promoting other things. And it's travelers themselves who don't care.
Plenty of blame to go around, for sure.
We very much enjoyed visiting Tufaio winery in Zagarolo, Lazio with you in 2018. You also took us to beautiful Nemi and introduced us to the shape of pasta known as the ‘priest strangler’. It was one of our best days in Italy ever and only a few miles outside of Rome! We tell people all the time, but they have a list of ‘must sees’ in Rome and consequently miss out on the BEST parts of Italy. You must visit these small towns and villages. You won’t be sorry. They are spectacular.
I appreciate you for saying so!
I think the U.K. school holiday system should change. Holidays should be broken up so that families can visit in the spring and autumn. Perhaps different towns have different holiday times. That would help reduce the number of visitors in the summer.
In the USA there are some year round schools where holidays are broken up throughout the year not just summer. Must better for parents
As long as their children are at the same school. My husband was a teacher and his half term rarely coincided with our daughter's!
We do have 2-week stretches at Christmas and Easter, but the former is prohibitively expensive and the latter precedes Serious Exam Season when GCSE & Sixth Form students are buckling down and revising. Our main family holiday always used to be at Easter, but we’re stuck with August for a couple more exam cycles to come.
With the way summers are going globally, we may need to consider changing school year holiday times. Certainly it is safer for kids to be in AC rooms than excruciating heat.
I think exactly the same about people visiting Mallorca in July/august! 😂
I am italian and because I love my country I feel ashamed for this dramatic side of the medal, simply dishonourable.
I feel like we are all put on a starting line; I take note and plan what I can do, there must be a way.
What to expect from authorities who think no better than cutting electricity?
This has shocked me 😳
I don't think overtourism is limited to Italy. But I do believe that we neednto put residents needs above visitors.
That's for sure 🤔
Yes to all of this. I always encourage people to visit Rome’s lesser known museums. There are so many! And to take day trips in Lazio as well. I love to bring friends and family to the Castelli Romani and Tuscia.
I live in Genzano di Roma (Castelli) and am now avoiding going swimming because of the hoards of Romans. Luckily the best spots are pretty hidden.
You mean swimming in the lakes or the sea?
Lakes. the sea is too warm for my taste.
Yup. Best months are May and October or June and September. Although ghostly November is also very atmospheric. And of course winter is fab if you are drawn to snow. But for the heat of summer, probably best to sink into the nearest cold water and sit it out with a glass full of Aperol and chunks of ice and mint so vibrant it is sprouting shoots. But on the other hand the Amalfi coast or Puglia in summer are just glorious in high summer- bottle green water with the sun bouncing off the waves like the pop of paparazzi cameras. Opps. May be it’s less about the temperatures and more about the what you wear and do, and above all, don’t try and ‘do’ Italy in hurry. To be properly experienced, Italy must be savoured- from scented air to exploded taste buds…
I completely agree.
Actually, I often wonder what exactly are doing some tourists anyhow anywhere: they eat pancake and avocado toasts at instagrammable places (queuing sometimes for hours for a table, at least in Lisbon), they go to museums to take pictures to three or four paintings, and a selfie, they eat ice cream and call it “gelato” even if they are in Andalusia, they flock to places that serve pad Thai and pizza side by side, unironically (the owner is neither Thai nor Italian), they go drink a cocktail at any “oysters and cocktail” bar and they could have been anywhere else because what they do as “experience” is just a copy of something they could have done elsewhere. Pizza in Italy (now: trapizzino, cornetto and spritz) can be pastel de nata in Portugal and churros in Spain and croissant in France and…
Someday we will be free of school schedules and can visit in May and October. Until then we melt at the beach.
As a guide working in and around Tokyo I sympathize and totally agree - don’t come to Tokyo after the rainy season. Any other time is great, even winter, but no one goes out and about from mid July to mid September except to the north, the mountains or at night for festivals.
I honestly don't want to travel anymore. I want to be an old Italian lady and go to thr beach for a week and go to the mountains for a week.
Totally with you.
Thank you SO much for writing this. I live in Turin and during July it is absolutely horrendous. We don’t get quite such high temperatures (but 35-38C is becoming normal) but the humidity is hellish (60-75% is normal). We won’t have visitors during July & August as they simply won’t enjoy it and neither will we. Most days in these months of hell see me making very early morning forays to the market then spending the rest of the day behind shutters. Air con is available but a) it’s expensive and b) power cuts! The upside is I lose weight and get lots of reading done. I feel for tour guides and everyone working in the industry but for the love god, don’t come to Italy in July!
I am currently disabled due to crohns disease so I am unable to work because it causes severe arthritis and I am grateful? It's crazy. I ended up getting AC because I have elderly dogs and now I rarely leave the house in the summer. Up there I know severe weather has been horrible for wine and agriculture. It's a mess.
Sending much sympathy - it must be horrendous for you. Yes, we have had problems with grape growing although at least this year things seem a little better. Monoculture, especially rice and maize on the plain, has much to answer for but the government seems unable or unwilling to face the inevitable outcome. Roll on autumn! 🍂🍁🍂🍁
This is why I support this Ultima Generazione Kids. They are doing the work we should have been doing twenty years ago. And Italy is sold out to corporate profit, we just have Healthcare so we don't notice as much, but even that system is going down the drain.
Such a great piece and so many excellent points made. Really appreciate you and glad I found this
Thank you! ❤️
Such a great read, thanks for sharing Sara Clemence's work!
She's great and that Antartica piece was incredible and timely.
I run a cocoa and vanilla farm in Belize and we run farm tours. It’s now cooler in Belize in July and August than a good deal of the Continental US. Time to also rethink the time we take school holidays as well. Traditionally it was so schoolchildren could help with summer harvests. I think that ship sailed long ago.
I feel incredibly validated reading this post. When I moved to Italy last summer, I was literally shocked by the heat and the crowds. I was so over stimulated and my friends and family in the US thought I was being dramatic. I felt physically unwell due to the heat and I didn’t even have a job and required me to be outside. You bring up so many amazing points here.
I would love connect about Georgia because I love the outdoors and am looking for some cooler weather summer escapes for July and August!
Georgia is also gross in the summer unless you go to the mountains. We had to get AC a few years back because the dogs were suffering so badly from the heat. I spend as much time at the lake as possible, more than the sea because even the sea is too fucking warm here!!!
Love the honesty ! Thank you !