OK, I'm a hat guy, call me folically challenged if you like, but the only time you see me without my hat is inside somewhere. So we'll be in Italy in a week, we're going on a med cruise followed by a couple of weeks of 'land cruising', I'd like to know what types of hats they are wearing over there. I usually wear a ball cap, but my wife says "no ball caps on our trip" so I also have several 'Tilley' hats, can anyone with some experience over there enlighten me?
thanks
Lorne in Victoria
Why no ball caps? If you want to blend in a bit more, buy a cap for one of the Italian soccer teams:AC Milan, Juventus, Inter, Roma, Lazio. Most any souvenir shop will sell them.
This is an easy one.
In Rome you want this one...
http://tinyurl.com/5s3mx6
...and elsewhere in Italy, you can't beat this one...
http://tinyurl.com/6x6ezk
I'm going to Sicily in May, and plan to wear my Panama hat in the field. It's a cheap one, but fits and keeps the sun off.
My father-in-law wore his Stetson when they traveled to Germany several years back, and it was a really big hit with the locals (it's a well-made light gray one that looks good). It was back when Dallas was on TV, and all of the kids were making comments about "J.R." and "Cowboy".
You could call him follically challenged as well.
I got a kick out of your suggestions, Patrick! My husband is "folically challenged" too, Lorne, but I would also balk if he wanted to wear a ball cap into the city--in Italy, France, Canada, or the States--unless he was headed to a ballgame. City people the world over tend to be more chic, which is why people post on here about what to wear--we know we will look like tourists no matter what, but we don't want to look like rubes. I'd suggest a Tilley hat if you're going to be outside the city sightseeing (Ostia Antica or the Appian Way, e.g.) but something more like a beret to cover your head in the city. Sure, you'll still look like an out-of-towner, but you won't have a burned pate, and your wife will be happy!
Lorne - I'm also folically challenged and with the sun here, I do wear hats... but I have a suggestion. BUY ONE HERE! There are incredible hat stores all throughout Italy. If that's not in your price range, do what I did - head to the markets! I've bought berets at Porto Portese and other hats at the Ponte Milvio market!
This way you solve your problem, great a great hat, and you'll look like a local (well kind of!). I also have "ball caps" but my wife won't be seen in public with me... Sorry Patrick, but they're USC Gamecock hats! (Unfortunately roosters are not as sacred as pigs here!)
If you're a hat historian The Vigano hat shop in Via Marco Minghetti still has Trilussa's hat (also known as Carlo Alberto Salustri, a famous Italian poet) and two fez by Mussolini.
Bring a hat.. but take back an Italian hat!
Ciao!
Ron
To say that city dwellers don't wear ball caps is a bit of a stretch. Obviously when people are in business suits going to and from work you won't see them. But when out shopping or enjoying the weekend its a common sight. I routinely wear one while sightseeing, and locals will frequently ask me the time or even directions. They may have different logos on them but Europeans do wear them.
My husband is not only "follicularly challenged" but has had to undergo therapy for precancerous lesions on his forehead. Needless to say, he wears something on his head when he is going to be out in the sun. We have been to Italy six times and he always takes and wears a ballcap. He doesn't even get any amused looks from the locals much less disdainful stares.
Most Italian men just don't wear hats. Some of the oldest Italian men wear fedoras, but that's becoming increasingly rare. Some younger Italian men do occasionally wear ballcaps, but not surprisingly it's considered very informal. If your wife doesn't believe you, show her the following pictures from a street demonstration a year ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ceskoz/461459553/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ceskoz/461446478/
You'll see Italian men wearing ballcaps.
My husband is Italian, has no hair, and yes, when when we go sightseeing to somewhere sunny, wears a baseball cap. His favorite was a maroon Louisville Slugger baseball hat, which unfortunately, he left on a train!
