hot, hot, hot again.

It's hot, hot, hot again.

Italy's civil protection department issued a heat-wave warning today for nine Italian cities where temperatures are expected to be close to or even surpass 40 degrees centigrade this week.

The warning is in place today only for the northern city of Brescia, while tomorrow it will be extended to Bologna, Milan and Bolzano in the north and Rome in central Italy.

Perugia, Latina and Civitavecchia, in central Italy, and Palermo in the south will get the warning on Wednesday, according to the news agency ANSA.

The heat wave is expected to last several days and civil protection officials said special measures need to be taken for those most at risk: the elderly, newborns and people with respiratory or cardiovascular problems.

These measures include staying indoors during the day, drinking plenty of liquids and eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

Except for some isolated afternoon showers in northern and central mountain areas, forecasters see no break in the hot weather until next week.

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Downturn

Downturn Takes a Bite Out of Tourism:

CAPRI — This Italian island, off southern Italy, is known as the playground for movie stars, soccer players and billionaires, and for normally attracting tourists from all over the world. But this year, its numbers are down. Restaurants are practically empty at lunchtime. Most luxury hotels are not full.

“After 23 years working in Capri, this is the first time that it’s been slow,” said Salvatore Vitiello, 42, a waiter at Al Piccolo Bar, in the Piazza Umberto, where only a handful of customers enjoyed a drink on a recent afternoon. Mr. Vitiello estimated a 30 percent drop in tourists this year when compared with 2008.

from the New York Times >read the full article

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