The hottest temperatures ever recorded in Italy have taken place in Sicily, where the thermometer has risen to an impressive 48.5 degrees Celsius or 119 degrees Fahrenheit. This small island is known to be one of the hottest places in Europe in the summer months. Lucky for you if you’re planning a trip to Sicily soon!
As a general rule, the southern part of the peninsula is generally warmer than the north, but wherever you may plan to visit in Italy this summer, there’s a good chance you’ll experience some nice hot weather.
Italians like to talk about the weather as much as the rest of us, so you may want to talk to locals about the weather in Italian. Here are two important words to know:
Caldo – hot
Freddo – cold
The best verb to use with these when speaking about the weather is fare. This is an irregular -are verb, and often translates as ‘to do’ or ‘to make’. However, when talking about the weather, it is equivalent to saying ‘it is’ in English. So, if you wanted to say ‘it’s hot’, you would say ‘fa caldo’. And if you wanted to say ‘it’s cold’, you would say ‘fa freddo’.
To talk about the weather being extremely hot (as it tends to be in Sicily at this time of year), you have some options using the word ‘caldo’ such as:
Fa molto caldo oggi – It’s very hot today
Fa tanto caldo qui – It’s so hot here
Fa veramento caldo / Fa davvero caldo / Fa proprio caldo – It’s really hot
Fa estremamente caldo in città – It’s extremely hot in the city
Fa terribilmente caldo in macchina – It’s terribly hot in the car
Fa caldissimo lì – It’s remarkably hot there
There are some other informal expressions you could use when discussing the warm weather in Italy. Let’s look at some:
Boiling hot
C’è un caldo infernale oggi – It’s boiling hot today (literally: there’s a hellish heat today)
È una giornata torrida – It’s a baking hot day
C’è un caldo insopportabile fuori – There’s a scorching heat outside (literally: there’s an unbearable heat outside)
Era una giornata rovente – It was a boiling hot day
Il fine settimana sarà bollente – The weekend is going to be boiling
Muoi di caldo – I’m boiling (literally: I’m dying of heat)
If you’re lucky enough to find something to cool you down a little, then these sentences may come in handy:
Farà fresco stasera – It’ll be cool this evening
Sta arrivando un vento più fresco – A cooler breeze is on its way
Ho bevuto una bibita ghiacciata – I drank a nice cold drink
Ho fatto una doccia fredda per raffreddarmi – I took a cold shower to cool down
Vado all’ombra per rinfrescarmi – I’m going to the shade to cool off
Ho messo il vino in frigo per mantenerlo fresco – I put the wine in the fridge to keep it cool
Fingers crossed for some good weather on your next trip to Italy, hopefully this lesson will be useful!
