The Lemon Granita Tea That Will Help You Survive A Boiling Day In Rome

Rome, or the Eternal City, as it's otherwise known, is like no other city on Earth. It is rich in history, architecture, art, food, romance, and energy. It positively takes your breath away with its beauty. But in the summer, Rome is also crowded with tourists and stifling with humid heat, as temperatures can spike into the high 80s for days at a time. With little breeze and rainfall, visiting Rome in its hot season can be rough. But there are certainly ways to cool down in between stops at ruins and museums. One way is, of course, plenty of gelato, and another involves iced tea and frozen lemonade.

TikTok user Elizabeth Minchilli describes herself as "eating my way through Italy" on her TikTok profile and is the author of three books about Italian dining and cooking, so it's safe to assume that she knows a thing or two about where and what to eat in the Italian capital city. In one short video, she walks through a plaza in the middle of Rome on a particularly boiling day and talks about a drink she describes as "internal air conditioning," a te freddo con granita or iced tea and lemon granita. Ice cold, tangy, and refreshing, it appears to be totally worth a stop on a sweltering day.

Minchilli recommends stopping for the beverage at Bar Ciampini located in Piazza San Lorenzo Lucina, which is about a ten-minute walk from the world-famous Trevi Fountain. When you order a te freddo con granita, your server will place a scoop of lemon granita (frozen lemonade) into a tall glass. They will then pour iced tea over the granita and up to the top of the glass. Once you stir it a little, the granita will start to melt, spiking the tea with a sweet lemon flavor while simultaneously lowering the temperature of your drink to extra ice cold.

One could describe such a beverage as being like an Arnold Palmer with a frozen lemonade kick. Despite being served in a "bar," this drink is completely non-alcoholic. In fact, in Italy, a "bar" is very different from a bar in America. Italian bars serve drinks of all kinds, both with alcohol and without; they serve a variety of casual food, coffee drinks, and are family-friendly. They are plentiful in Rome, so it's not difficult to track one down when you need to sit and cool off during your July vacation.

An Italian lemon tea granita may cool you down and recharge your energy battery during a day of Roman sightseeing, but there are also other ways to beat the heat. Because the summer months are very popular for tourism in Rome, you can expect crowds of people and long lines, particularly at popular sites like the Colosseum and Vatican City. To get ahead of this situation, get an early start. Set your alarm for super-early and hit the pavement before most people do. You can sleep later — as in, take a siesta during the hottest part of the afternoon. Go back to your air-conditioned hotel room and take a nap, which is so very Italian. Eat gelato — lots of it. Make your own basic coffee granita.

Stay hydrated in the form of lemon iced tea granitas and the city's many water fountains, which are called nasoni. They look like decorative fountains (of course — this is Italy, after all), but they offer cold, safe, natural mountain water for free to anyone who's thirsty. Fill up your water bottle or cup your hands and take a big drink. Finally, eat dinner late, as the locals do. You can eat outside and enjoy the much cooler air; plus, you'll have plenty of time to take in a cold aperitif before dinner, like the ubiquitous Aperol Spritz. You might not be able to change the weather in Rome, but there are plenty of ways to stay comfortable in the best way: food and drink.