Italy’s heatwave continues with particularly high temperatures in its big cities. Florence, for instance, has temperatures well into the upper thirty degrees centigrade; I do not remember the heat turned on so early in the year before. Normally we wait until the end of June but this year we have been sweltering since the second half of May.  I am not a particular devotee of high temperatures and have devised various ways of dealing with them. Even if our house is at an altitude of 1079 feet it does get hot here too! (It must be hell, however, in Lucca by lunchtime…)

First way to deal with the heat is to get up early and do essential chores like looking after the garden or shopping by ten o clock before the heat is well up.

Second is to keep in the shade which, in our property, is quite easy to do as we are surrounded by cool forests and a walk among the chestnuts can be rather pleasant.

Third is to plan day-trips to higher altitudes. The problem is that our highest mountains which rise to over 6,000 feet have hardly any forest cover and their bare rocks can hit surprising temperatures. I remember, for example, passing a night among the still warm rocks of the Monte Pisanino in comfort.

Fourth is to aim for a (preferably air- conditioned) bar and enjoy a gelato with scrumptious flavours to choose from. (Our last one included lemon – always – coffee and banana.)

Fifth is to head for our main river, the Lima, and find a place there to dip one’s feet, have a paddle or swim in its refreshingly cool waters.

Yesterday we chose the last option and went to a favourite spot near Fabbriche di Casabasciana. The Lima is particularly picturesque in this stretch and there are some fine sights on offer.

There’s a wonderful bridge over the Liegora, a tributary, which, with its brilliant brickwork of staggered arches, seems to combine the best features of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in a nineteenth century virtuoso display of the mason’s craft.

The arches lead to an iron footbridge which crosses the Lima River. Its height above the swirling waters is quite stupendous and almost makes one’s head go round.

On the other side of the footbridge is a waterfall, now a mere trickle but which after a storm can turn into a dramatic cataract.

Beyond a path, formerly a water channel feeding a local mill and paper works, leads along the Lima.  Sometimes the eddying stream is interrupted by weirs forming expansively placid pools in idyllic surroundings.

Which will it be today? One thing is certain. It’s going to be hot, hot hot.

We are, therefore, so lucky to find our own escape valves for the torrid Tuscan summer heat with natural air-conditioning surrounding us at no extra cost!

However, deep inside me, this earliest of heat waves is most worrying since it is a direct result of global warming due to climate change for which mankind must bear considerable responsibility.