Siesta Snafoos

As we've been travelling around Italy, one of the things which we often run afoul of is siesta. In Italian culture, siesta is a beautiful concept - it is the period of the day where people can relax, digest after lunch (lunch is often about 1pm here), and catch a quick nap. Siesta begins about 1:30-2 pm and ends at 3:30 or 4 pm, sometimes as late as 4:30pm. Generally, most shops close so that the owner can go home to have lunch and a nap. As the summertimes can be brutally hot here, it's also a chance to escape the heat. After siesta ends, shops reopen and stay open much later than in the US, until 7pm or later.

This major church in Napoli was closed for siesta when
we visited. We arrived at 3pm, but it was closed until 4pm.

But, what does the siesta mean for the foreign traveller? Mainly, lots of problems. Arriving in a small town at siesta time means that nothing will be open; we have sat in cafes literally waiting for two hours until things open up again. Or, it means not being able to get groceries - for Thanksgiving, we tried to head to the supermarket to get wine and chocolate, and we smacked up against siesta yet again; it was 3:30pm and all the supermarkets were closed until 4:30. (Luckily, a tiny store nearby was open and had good wine prices - but no chocolate).

It also means problems for touring a city; we like to go out touring all day, but with siesta, this can mean that large churches can be closed when we want to visit, or smaller museums may close down for thist time period. As siesta doesn't exist in the US, we often forget about it and are constantly surprised when we run up against it. It's a common sigh we utter when it causes problems: "Ah, damn, it's siesta time."

Even in larger cities like Napoli, it is quite common for many of the shops to close down. Add to siesta the fact that Sundays are basically a dead period (practically everything is closed, there are fewer trains, and buses may be nonexistent) and travel can be a bit difficult. We try to plan our major travel for non-weekends, but siesta is a commonly re-occurring issue.

As I am writing, siesta is on my mind as I'm waiting for it to be 5pm - the time when the little neighborhood grocery store will open after siesta ends. My stomach is growling. Siesta is good for naps, but bad for food shopping! 10 minutes and counting until siesta is done...