It will be a hot Summer in the Mediterranean. The sun will boil your brain slowly, and the justifiable fear of severe sunburn gives you the idea to obtain a hat fast. People of Greece, Italy, Malta, France, Spain and Portugal developed useful shields during thousands of years against the sunbeam. You can wear any hat walking on the dry Mediterranean land, but the use of the following traditional tools is not a coincidence.
Greece
It’s not the funny military cap today because Greece had once the “pileus” as well. This hat is in use from the ancien
t mythologic times, and perhaps it’s the father of all other Mediterranean traditional headgears. The pileus “was a brimless, felt cap”. Pileus is so timeless in the fashion industry, that even today you can run into the hipster on the picture from the 4th century BC on whichever Greek beach.
Meanwhile, in Crete, they developed the sariki, which is a “scarf-like mostly black crocheted shawl with fringes”. This one is a great tool, somehow you can manage to hide your nape, but sweat can’t drip into your eyes, and it gives that pirate type bold look. Please don’t forget that according to the tradition, only famous fighters and dancers used this kind of headscarf. So, if you wear a sariki enjoy the kindness and friendliness of the local people and dance a lot.
Italy
Italian designers gave many beautiful hats to the fashion-loving Mediterranean people, but you regularly don’t wear a hat during the hot and long Italian summer. You use sunglasses under the roof of the Lido, which provides just enough shade to survive. Those little typical Italian hats are not adequate because the Ionian summer sun can be hotter than tolerable around the olive groves and hats for fashion victims not provide you sufficient coolness and protection around your neck.
Malta
Malta gave the world a practical headgear, not only for the stylish but also for shy ladies in case of the ordinary heatwave. 
The traditional Maltese women’s summer dress (in dark it’s a scary one) is the għonnella .
This dress or let’s call it the hooded cloak, looks like a mysterious sail and the wearer had to hold both sides in the right hand during walking to not to fall on the face during a walk on the limestone steps. According to the legend, two Sicilian women brought the fashion line to Malta, who were expelled from their home because they massacred their husbands. My opinion is that it’s like nun’s clothes and there were a lot of Jesus’ brides in Malta and Gozo. For sure, the għonnella protects you during walking home from the mass on an always sunny Maltese Sunday morning.
Spain
The famous “Sombrero cordobés“, is the very traditional Zorro typed hat made in the Spanish city of Córdoba and mainly worn in Andalusia. This hat lends you the look of the matador and protects you against the burning sun (when your long mane horse jumps above a barrel of “crianza” wine and the muchachas clapping their white-gloved hands for you noble Hidalgo). The most excellent characteristic of this sombrero is the unisex style, both man and woman can wear it! And actually, Spanish ladies with the fiery eyes are usually wearing the sombrero when they are dressed as “Amazon” or when they dance flamenco. The origin of this elegant headgear is unclear. There are drawings from the 17th century, where labourers used similar hats. 
Copyright by Bence Zákonyi 2016
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