TBetween the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, there is a time, often though not every year, in which time seems to forget the calendar. While the leaves are already on the ground and the sunsets are getting shorter, the air, instead of stinging, still caresses. This is the so-called “Saint Martin’s summer” and this is exactly what Italy is experiencing: a sort of meteorological suspension, in the heart of the cold season.
Summer of San Martino: between legend, climate and peasant culture
The name of this phenomenon is not accidental. “St. Martin’s Summer” takes its name from Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman soldier who, according to legend, he cut off his cloak to share with a cold beggar and immediately afterwards, the sky opened and the climate became milder: a divine sign, according to tradition, which celebrated the gesture of charity. Since then, on November 11th, day of his commemoration, it is associated with a sudden and short burst of good weather.
Beyond symbolism
Beyond the traditions and legends handed downthe “St. Martin’s summer” has a concrete meteorological explanation. Behind this parenthesis lies a silent but powerful protagonist: a high pressure field which, like an invisible dome, has spread over the central Mediterranean, blocking the arrival of Atlantic disturbances. It is a robust, structured anticyclone, which does not simply guarantee clear skies, but rewrites the very perception of the climate. Maximum temperatures in many Italian cities are exceeding 18°Ca threshold which, in this period, should belong more to the memories of October than to the news of November.
Short-sleeved November: is it just a truce or the sign of a changing climate? (Getty)
An awaited and hoped for event
In peasant culture, this interval was not just a climatic curiosity: it was expected and celebrated. It marked the end of the agricultural year, the moment when the barrels of new wine were openeda ritual gesture that started the first tastings and coincided with the expiration of the sharecropping contracts, which were renewed or renegotiated. It was a time of balance, of transition, where nature seemed to offer a respite before the long winter. A warm breath, short but intense, which united the sky with the earth and the climate with social relationships.
Mists, light and atmospheric deceptions
But it’s not just a matter of degrees. It is the quality of the light, the absence of wind, the static nature of the air that transform this phase into something alienating. The northern plains wake up surrounded by dense mists, which slowly dissolve like theatrical curtains, revealing clear mornings and almost warm afternoons. In the South, however, the sun asserts itself decisively, giving days that seem stolen from the beginning of summer. Yet, all you have to do is wait for sunset to remember that it is still November: temperatures drop rapidly, and the night brings with it the silent chill of late autumn.
The great temperature gap: hot during the day, cold at night
This temperature difference between the warmth of the day and the cold of the night, it is one of the most obvious effects of winter high pressure. Without clouds to retain heat, the ground cools rapidly after sunset, creating a temperature range that can exceed 10 degrees in just a few hours. It’s a climate that deceives: invites you to go out light, but punishes those who forget their jacket for the evening return.
Towards the weekend we say goodbye to the summer of San Martino
The truce has an expiration, but only when it comes to good weather. According to projections, between Thursday and Friday a new Atlantic front, driven by a vortex arriving from Spain, will begin to touch Sardinia, and then extend to the southern and Adriatic regions. The first rains will hit the Major Islands, followed by a gradual worsening also in the Centre-South. But be careful: despite the return of precipitation, temperatures will remain above the seasonal averagea sign that the anomaly will not end with the first drops. A new normal to decipher.