Summer holidays in Southern Italy

Whenever everyone thinks of Italy, they think of sunshine. Did you know that it is not actually true? At least not all year long. And even when it is summer sometimes there are some storms, days when it rains so badly but for a really short period of time. Everyone hopes that the weather after them will change and cool down, but it is actually worst after because it feels hotter than before, more humid and with more mosquitoes.

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Southern Italy

Milan is not really livable during summer, it gets really hot, sometimes it rains and you don’t expect it, it gets humid and there are a lot of mosquitoes. It is hard to visit the city when all you want to do is rest by the pool, or even better, the ocean. This is why every summer I leave the city, at least for three weeks. I usually go where my grandparents live all year long. This place is all the way to the south, on the tip of the Italian boot, in the province of Reggio di Calabria.

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The town itself is quite boring, so we usually go on trips if we want to do something more exciting, otherwise, we crush at the beach for the most part of the day. It’s nice because the beach is public but since the town is small, and my house is at the edge of the village, there’s hardly anyone. We can play with sand, play volleyball, talk or splash one another without disturbing anyone.

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Sometimes on the fifteenth of August, we go swimming at midnight because it is tradition, but it is not strict so we kind of decide that on the day. What we started to do more frequently are bonfires. I kind of brought back from the States the smores trend, so I burnt some marshmallows for my siblings and cousins. They needed to try it.

(We tried to stay on the beach for the whole night, but eventually gave up on that idea and went back home, where our comfy beds were waiting to accompany us to another day).

Having the entire beach (or almost all of it) for ourselves is good and bad. Good because we can relax, bad because sometimes we want to do something different or to get to know someone new but there’s no one but ourselves. But again, we have all year round to meet people, when we go there we usually just tan, enjoy the food and spend time with our family.

Amazing food

Back to the food, it is amazing. My grandparents grow a lot of vegetables, like cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. We use fresh ingredients and every dish tastes amazing! The rule is that during summer people lose weight because with the heat no one has a lot of appetite. Well, I usually gain weight when I go because I cannot control myself. I only eat twice a day, if I don’t consider my small breakfast (I want to swim right away so I tend not to eat heavily in the morning) but I eat so much when I am at the table, and also Italian families stay at the table during lunch for like two hours.

But I gain weight also because in the South (almost) everything is fried. Arancini, Zeppole, Frittelle di fiori di Zucca... all fried. After lunch, everyone is full so they get tired, rest, and then go back to the beach. Get home late, shower and eat again. By 10 p. m. I get so tired, while when still in Milan I go to bed really late.

Trips around the area

To begin with, a few meters from my house there’s a lighthouse and we know the person who lives there so from time to time we go up there and enjoy the view of the coast.

(This is what you can see from the lighthouse).

If that is not enough, we then take the car and drive to Bivongi for a pizza or for street food. This place is only more or less twenty minutes from the beach but it is already quite up high, so it is nice to get some fresh air after a day of chilling and swimming.

(This is Bivongi during La Badia, a street market where the main products are things to eat, but also handmade items, paintings and stuff like that).

If we want to do something different than street food, we normally go to Soverato, where there is more nightlife than any other place around. Bigger city, few clubs, lots of lidi (view bars) and so on. Not far from there, there are amazing beaches, like:

• Pietra Grande;
• Caminia;
• Montepaone.

I mean, the coast is amazing and the water is bright blue. Lots to do. You can chill under your umbrella the whole day, or play football, or simply sip some drinks at the bar, all of this in your swimming suit, you don't even have to get dressed in some places. Very chill and very fun.

Would I live in Southern Italy?

Given that I have been living my whole life in Milan, I would never change that and move to the South, even if the food is amazing and I would be able to go to the beach for like four or five months per year instead of three weeks. I know myself and I know that I would get bored pretty easily. My dream city is New York and I cannot picture myself living in a small place in the country.

- Cristian

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