It’s not the strongest, but definitely the coldest on the rosa dei venti (the rose, i.e. chart, of winds). A compound word made of the Latin tras (across/thru) and the root for mountain, this Italian north-easterly winter wind literally blows tra montagna, across the Alps and Appenine mountains.
The peculiar thing about it is that it will push most of the moisture out of the atmosphere, so that while it marks the coldest days of the year, it also marks the sunniest. Mind you not normal Italian sunny, but laser-like contrasts between light and shadow, zero-impurities in the air, sunglasses required kind of sunny.
You can pretty much see as far as the eye can manage… views all the way to the sea and beyond from pretty much any higher ground, as well as views of all the regional mountains from any lower coastal areas.
Ask any Roman to describe the Tramontana, and the answer you’ll likely get is “un ssole che spacca le pietre e’n'ffreddo c’te se porta via.” (Sun that splits stones and cold that takes you away.)
Copritevi! (Bundle up!)
– Contributed by GB (see bio), Editor, Italian Notebook.
Brrrrr!
It was very windy and cold here in Bagni di Lucca yesterday, but today is sunny and beautiful.
Another wonderful portrait of Rome from GB!
Mi dà i brividi!
Great Note, GB. There must be mixed emotions when la tramontana blows in.
GB – Before my husband and I spent Jan/ Feb in Rome last year I’d read that the Roman light in the winter was spectacular. Now I know why! My photos from those days are better than any before or since – not only due to the “tramontana” but the sun being lower in the sky (is that right?) well – the sun setting earlier and the fantastic light and shadow – that for me, creates the image.
Wish I were there!!!!
Interesting view of the VE monument. I am guessing it was somewhere
close to the Quattro Fantane area
Bill, bravo, you have the right idea, except you got the VE monument turned around 180 degrees. The photo is showing the side and some of the back of the wedding cake, not the front. Try again..
Hint: also, you’ll notice the cream colored squarish dome of the synagogue in the foreground.
What an enjoyable thing to look fwd to daily! Interesting variety of articles! Really like the format & one-page aspect, not too long to cause anyone to lose interest. Great photos also! Bravo for creating ItalianNotebook.com.
Occasionally I’ve found a small error such as today. The Latin word is trans that means across or through & gives us tramontana & Trastevere (which means “across the Tiber River.” My opinion is that lazy speech over centuries caused the Latin word trans to get changed to tra or tras as a prefix in Italian. After all, Italian is a direct descendent of Latin. As a former Latin teacher, I feel compelled to make this correction about the Latin word trans.
But thx for an informative article.
These are my absolute favorite days! I know it is tramontana before I open my eyes in the morning as I want to jump up and embrace the day. Just the polar opposite of the dreaded scirocco – that southeast wind coming from North Africa and picking up the heavy moisture that deadens the spirit and exhausts the body. Said to be a mitigating circumstance in Southern Italy when murders take place….Viva la tramontana!