Sawt Falasteen - Fleeing the heat, tourists explore Rome at night, underground

At a refreshing 15C, the catacombs were a popular place to hide this week as temperatures in the Eternal City reached almost 40C, while other visitors sought out evening tours and 2:00 am walks.

"If we could have postponed our trip, we would have done it, but everything was already booked," said Ansari, 32, visiting Italy with her mother and an aunt.

Instead, they adapted. "We booked our earliest tour starting at 7:30 am, and aim to be home before midday," she told AFP, taking refuge on a shaded stone bench near the Appian Way next to her aunt, who appeared overwhelmed by the heat.

They do not venture out again before 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm, and, as in many Mediterranean countries, they pushed back their dinner time by three hours to 9:00 pm.

In central Rome, Rafael Falcao also headed underground, to the Crypt of the Capuchin Friars on the Via Veneto, which he found relatively cool.

He too, had to change his plans as a heatwave punishing southern Europe pushed up Rome's already high August temperatures.

"Yesterday, we rented a small car to visit the city because it was too hot to walk," the 42-year-old Brazilian said.

Patricia Kolodziej, a 41-year-old Polish woman living in Britain, said she struggled to find things to do with her toddler in the heat.

But she managed to get tickets for the last entry to the Colosseum, the ancient Roman amphitheatre that's a must-see for tourists -- but which can be a furnace during the day.

"We have chosen more sightseeing in the evening," Kolodziej told AFP.

A few steps away, under the shadow of the Colosseum, an Asian tourist who declined to give her name, seemed close to fainting, her forehead sweating.

"We came late on purpose, but it's no use," she said.

- Nobody out -

Online travel portal Booking.com predicted last October that "noctourism" -- nighttime tourism -- will be one of the trends of 2025.

It blamed rising temperatures due to climate change, as well as overtourism.

Several Rome sites offer evening activities, including the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum which opens late at night twice a week.

Tickets quickly disappear but Madison Thibert, from the US state of North Dakota, secured one, allowing her to enjoy the sight of the ancient monument bathed in moonlight.

Thibert said she and her boyfriend had been exploring the city after hours, when temperatures reduce, and so do the crowds.

"We just walked around, we saw the Trevi Fountain, came by the Colosseum. We took some of the scooters around on the roads," Thibert said.

"It was a lot cooler," she noted, and, "nobody was out. It was perfect."

F.AbuShamala--SF-PST