travel information about Italy
language Italian
capital city Rome
population 59 million
area 116,000 square miles
electricity 230V, 50 Hz
entry requirements
A valid passport is sufficient for a 90-day stay. Italy, a member of the EU, does not require visas for citizens of the United States.
money
As of 18-feb-2010: 1 Euro = ¤ 1,37 US Calculate Other Amounts
A value-added tax (VAT; IVA in Italian) of 20 percent is added to every purchase you make in Italy, but non-EU residents can get refunds for high-ticket items (€155 and up) purchased in shops with a "Tax-Free Shopping" sticker in the window.
The shop will give you a special receipt that you should have stamped at customs before leaving the EU.
For further information, see www.agenziadogane.it.
Hotels and high-end restaurants generally include service charges in their bills. Other restaurants don't, in which case a ten percent tip for good service is appreciated.
calling to Italy
Telephone Calling Code from Europe: +39
Telephone Calling Code from USA & Canada: 0139
and then the desired number, including the local area code starting with 0. For example, if you want to call a number in Rome from abroad, dial: 00 39 06 +++++++.
calling from Italy
dial 00 followed by the country code and the desired number. International calls can also be made from public phones using a phone card. Phone cards from Euro 1 to 10 can be purchased from cafés, tobacconist’s, newsagents and post offices.
Don’t forget to check the expiry date on the back and to tear off the little triangle on the top left edge of the card before you use it.
All the main cities in Italy also offer call centres, where you can make international calls at a more convenient rate compared to public phones.
The local dialling codes always start with 0 and can have two, three or even four digits. The phone number after the local dialling code varies from four to eight digits depending on the location.
Freephone numbers, referred to in Italy as numeri verdi (literally green numbers) have no dialling code and generally start with 800.
As for mobile phones, Italy uses a GSM 900/1800 system, compatible with the rest of Europe and Australia, but not with North America.
Before you leave, do check with your mobile phone operator whether you will be able to use your phone in Italy or whether you can insert a pre-paid SIM card in it (your passport is usually requested to do this).
The four main mobile phone operators in Italy (TIM, Vodafone, Wind and Tre) offer pre-paid SIM cards for as little as Euro 10 (sometimes on special with Euro 10 credit top-up).
time
Italy is an hour ahead of the Greenwich zero meridian (GMT). In the early hours of the morning on the last Sunday in March, clocks are set forward one hour.
An extra hour of sun and fun for inhabitants and visitors to the peninsula, which ends in the early hours of the morning on the last Sunday in October, when clocks are set back an hour.
driving regulations
There are just a few simple rules to keep in mind to travel freely on Italian roads and motorways are contained in an amalgamated law (Codice della strada or Highway Code) and have been standardised to comply with European regulations on car and motor vehicle traffic.
Driving on the right-hand side of the road, overtaking on the left, wearing seatbelts at all times and mandatory use of low beam headlights on motorways and main roads outside built-up areas even during the day.
As in the rest of Europe, warning triangles and reflective vests (fluorescent yellow or orange, to be worn as soon as you get out of the car) are compulsory in the event of car breakdown and parking in dangerous areas or fast roads and motorways.
The polizia stradale or highway police, or other law enforcement force are authorised to run random breathalyser tests.
mopeds, motorcycle and motorbikes
You do not need to have a driving licence to ride small mopeds, up to 50 cc, but you do need to be at least 14 years old and you cannot carry passengers.
You need to be sixteen to drive a motorcycle up to 125 cc. For two-wheelers above 125 cc, you need to be 18 or over and have a motorbike driving licence.
You cannot ride mopeds below 150 cc on motorways under any circumstances.
Helmets are compulsory for mopeds and motorcycles of any engine size. Legal blood alcohol limit: 0.05%.
Speed limits on motorways: 130 kilometres per hour.
Speed limits on highways: 110 kilometres per hour or lower where specified by signs (also on main roads outside towns).
To ensure speed limits are respected, a large number of Autovelox electronic speed cameras have been installed throughout the entire network of Italian roads and motorways.
weather
The climate varies from North to South, from the coasts to the mountain peaks.
The temperatures at sea level tend to be the same in the surrounding towns too, while there are unexpected climatic changes between summer and winter at high altitude.
The winter season on the Alps is harsh, with permanent snow since mid September.
The northern regions are marked by cold winters, hot summers and rain well distributed throughout the year, while the weather conditions become milder as you move south.
Central Italy (between Liguria and Lazio) definitely benefits from a more temperate climate than the northern regions.
In the southern regions, south of Rome, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, the climate is hot and dry.
Here the sirocco, a hot and humid African wind, blows over all the South, making the summer season extremely hot.
Nonetheless, the Apennine areas of central and southern Italy afford a harsh climate, typical of Alpine mountain areas.
http://weather.msn.com/region.aspx?wealocations=Italy
when to visit Italy
Always! Every season is suitable and every month is the most interesting time depending on the region you choose to visit or what you want to do.
Winter: from December to February for those of you who are interested in snow and the mountains.
Spring: between April and June, when the climate is mild and temperate everywhere, the blooming countryside affords breathtaking landscapes and you can visit the cities and enjoy the mild climate at the same time.
During this time, you will also find it easier to get around because the great throngs of Italian tourists who mostly go on holiday in July and August leaving the cities to enjoy popular seaside towns and holiday resorts haven’t set off on their journey yet.
Summer: along the coasts, or in the countryside to enjoy relaxing places.
Everyone’s on holiday in August. This statement doesn’t really make sense anywhere else in the world, but it is an essential truth in Italy: the majority of Italians go on holiday in August and, consequently, many shops and restaurants in the large cities close for business for at least part of the month, although there are some undoubted advantages in terms of accessibility to architectural sites, monuments and museums, and the more convenient travel on public transport.
The calendar of religious festivals, of local and national festivals, of cultural events and traditional performances is abundant and covers every month in the year, to reach frenzied peaks between the Easter festivities and the month of September.
transports
from/to airports to your villa
- rent a car
The villas you can rent from US are not easily reached by pubblic transportation; therefore it is advisable to make arrangements to rent a car before your arrival and pick it at the airport.
We do not provide such a service so we suggest you to contact directly the major car rental company such as National, Avis, Herts. - chauffeur
We can organize a transfer from and to the airports to the villa by our chauffeur.
In this case it is not possible to have the rented car delivered to the villa so the service we provide is to have a second chauffeur to drive your car so you can just relax till you reach your property.
Please contact our office for further information. - hydrofoil by Ischia
capri 35 min, sorrento 50 min, naples 40 min. - day tours
We can book a professional guide and private chauffeur for cultural or shopping tours to discover the most enchanting places to visit in the area or find a bargain in the several fashion outlets.
Check with the office for availability and costs. - airports and trains
Italian Airports official site: www.aeroporti.com. Italian Trains official website:www.trenitalia.com
how to get to by plane
Puglia
Fly to Bari or Brindisi International airport www.aeroportidipuglia.it and drive for about 1 hour from Bari and about 30 min from Brindisi to the ”Trulli district" . Ryanair operates flights from London to both airports.
national holidays
- 1st January: New Year Eve
- 6th January: Epiphany (or Befana)
- March-April: Easter and Easter Monday (Sunday and Monday)
- 25th April: Liberation Day
- 1st May: May bank holiday (workers’ holiday) concerts and events all over Italy - the concert held in Rome every year in honour of Italian workers is abounding in talent and completely packed.
- 2nd June: Festival of the Republic
- 15th August: The Assumption (Feast of the Assumption)
- 1st November: All Saints Day
- 8th December: Immaculate Conception Feast
- 25th December: Christmas
- 26th December: St. Stephen’s Day
opening hours
Shops and Supermarkets: on working days and Saturdays shops are generally open from 9 am to 1 pm in the morning and then from 4/5 pm to 8/9 pm.
The majority of the supermarkets, department stores and hypermarkets are open from 9 am to 7/8 pm, and are closed on Sundays.
During religious or pagan celebrations, shops remain closed. But in Polignano a Mare you can always find shops open till midnight or Sunday.
Chemists: the majority of chemists are closed on Saturday afternoon, Sunday and on national holidays, but every municipal administration organises a rota system to ensure a few chemists are open at any time during the week.
Chemists that stay closed are forced to display a sign in the window indicating the nearest open chemists.
Banks: open at around 8:30 am and close at 1:30 pm from Monday to Friday. At the weekend, however, bureaux de change agents in all the major cities and main tourist resorts are in full swing.
Post offices: are open all day without a lunch break from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm from Monday to Saturday. Some central offices close at 1 pm on Saturday.
Cafés and bars: open all day and some even stay open until the early hours.
Nightclubs and other nightlife hotspots: open around 10 pm but things only really begin to get going at around midnight.
Italians looking for fun do so at their own pace, and they may only be ready to actually go out the front door at around the time people in other countries are going to sleep after a night out.
So don’t rush to the nightclub entrance early: go out for dinner first at about 9 or 10 pm (a normal dinner time, especially in the South of Italy) and take your time.
emergency numbers·
- 113 Police. National helpline for all emergencies, to report robberies, thefts or assaults, accidents and also health emergencies.
- 112 Carabinieri (police headquarters)
- 115 fire, smoke or gas leaks
- 118 healthcare and ambulance network
- 803.116 Roadside assistance. For engine breaks down or in the event of another problem with your
- car that prevents you from travelling. When you dial this number, a distress call will be routed to
- the nearest ACI (the Italian Automobile Association) office, who will send out mechanics to repair or if necessary tow your car. The service is available 24 hours a day, but it is not free of charge,
- although ACI members are entitled to large discounts.
- 1515 State Forestry Corps environmental emergencies. The Forestry corps is in charge of
- safeguarding the environmental and landscape heritage and, in particular, of forest fires, a
- constant emergency especially during the summer months.
- 1530 National coastguards.
embassies·
- Australia
Via Antonio Bosio 5, 00161 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/852721 or the freephone emergency number
800877790 Website: www.australian-embassy.it - Canada
Via G.B. de Rossi 27, 00161 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/445981
Website: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canadaeuropa/italy - China
Via Bruxelles 56, 00198 Rome - Tel.: +39.06/8848186
Website: www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceit/ita - France
Piazza Farnese 67, 00186 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/686011
Website: www.france-italia.it - Germany
Via San Martino della Battaglia 4, 00185 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/492131
Website: www.rom.diplo.de - Ireland
Piazza Campitelli 3, 00186 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/6979121
Website: www.ambasciata-irlanda.it - Japan
Via Quintino Sella 60, 00187 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/487991
Website: www.it.emb-japan.go.jp - The Netherlands
Via Michele Mercati 8, 00197 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/3221141
Website: www.olanda.it - Russia
Via Gaeta 5, 00185 Rome - Tel.: +39.06/4941680; 06/4941681; 06/4941649
Website: www.ambrussia.com - Switzerland
Via Barnaba Oriani 61, 00197 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/809571
Website: www.eda.admin.ch/roma - UK
Via XX Settembre 80a, 00187 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/42200001
Website: www.britishembassy.gov.uk - USA
Via Vittorio Veneto 119-121, 00187 Rome – Tel.: +39.06/46741
Website: www.usis.it
TRAVEL TO ITALY