Learn Hardcore Italian: Durante l’orario di punta, i vagoni diventano caldissimi. - During rush hour, the carriages get very hot.

Durante is a preposition meaning “during.” It introduces a time period in which something happens. Unlike English, it never changes form and is always followed by a noun (optionally with an article).

Why is it l’orario and not lo orario or l'ora?

Lo → l’: In Italian, the masculine singular definite article lo contracts to l’ before a vowel, so lo orario becomes l’orario.
Orario vs. ora:
- Orario means “schedule” or “time slot/period” (here: the rush‐hour period).
- Ora means “hour” or “now.” Saying l’ora di punta would literally be “the peak hour,” which isn’t the usual expression for “rush hour.”

What exactly does orario di punta mean?

Orario di punta is the standard Italian term for “rush hour.” Literally, it’s “schedule/time of peak,” referring to the busiest times of the day in transport or traffic.

Why use di in orario di punta instead of another preposition?

The preposition di links two nouns to form a compound meaning (like “time of peak”). Many Italian nominal compounds work this way: tazza di tè (cup of tea), paura di volare (fear of flying). Here, di marks the relationship between “time” and “peak.”

Could I say negli orari di punta instead of durante l’orario di punta?

Yes. Two common alternatives are:

Durante gli orari di punta (“during the rush‐hour periods,” plural)
Negli orari di punta (using in + gli = negli)

Both are grammatically correct; choosing singular vs. plural slightly shifts the focus to one block of time vs. multiple recurring periods.

Why i vagoni? Could the article be omitted?

Plural definite article: Italian often uses the definite article with plural nouns to talk about things in general. English normally drops it (“train cars get very hot”), but Italian keeps it: i vagoni = “the train cars” in general.
Omitting it: You could say Vagoni diventano caldissimi, but it sounds stilted or poetic. In everyday Italian, drop the article only in headlines or very truncated speech.

What does vagoni refer to? Is it “wagons” or “carriages”?

Vagoni is the plural of vagone. In the context of trains, it equates to “train cars” or “carriages.” Although “wagon” is a literal translation, in railway contexts English speakers prefer “car” or “carriage.”

Why diventano instead of sono? What nuance does diventano add?

Diventano = “they become.” It emphasizes a change of state (from cooler to hot) that happens during rush hour.
Sono caldissimi = “they are very hot.” That would state a static condition without highlighting the transformation.

What is caldissimi? How is the superlative formed, and could I say molto caldi instead?

caldo (hot) → caldissimo (extremely hot) by adding the suffix -issimo and matching gender/number (-i for masculine plural → caldissimi).
molto caldi means “very hot” too, but caldissimi is stronger/formal: literally “the hottest” or “extremely hot.”
Spelling note: doubling the s is required (caldo + issimo → caldissimo) to preserve pronunciation and follow Italian superlative rules.