Tourist Information

Each main town has an APT (Azienda di Informazione Turisica) or IAT (Informazione e Accoglienza Turistica). If you need addresses and telephone numbers you should look in the local directory or in Yellow Pages under ENIT (Ente Nazionale per il Turismo, which is the Italian state tourist board). The Yellow Pages website is www.paginegialle.it.

Main APT offices and TCI offices (Touring Club Italiano) will offer free city maps, a list of hotels, museum addresses and opening hours, and any other helpful information they can give. They will also be able to recommend the best local food to eat and which wines will compliment it. Should you like a local guide for a day or two, they can easily arrange this.

Upon entry into Italy a valid passport is required. Visas are not required for tourists who are staying in Italy up to three months. However, if you are entering Italy to work or study you will be required to obtain a visa from the Italian Embassy or Italian Consulate.

Under Italian law, tourists are required to register with a local police station within eight working days of their arrival, regardless of their intended length of stay. You must obtain a permit of stay called a "permesso di soggiorno".

Italy remains largely free of terrorist incidents. However, Italy's borders are open to its European neighbours allowing the possibility of terrorist groups coming and going with total anonymity.

Italy has a moderate amount of violent crime, some of which is directed towards foreigners. Mostly these crimes are committed for motives of theft. Travellers must remain vigilant, as they would travel in any other country. Train stations and airports, nightclubs, bars and outdoor cafés are all prime target areas. If you are a victim of a crime, file a police report and contact your embassy or consulate. There are also organisations within Italy that are there to help as well as provide counselling, medical and legal assistance to certain crime victims.

Petty crimes such as pick pocketing, theft from cars and purse snatching are serious problems throughout Italy, especially in the larger cities. Thieves often work in pairs or groups.

Medical facilities are available throughout Italy, but may be limited in more rural areas. Public hospitals are generally free of charge for emergency services.

Streets in old city centres are likely to be winding, narrow and congested. Locals like to get about on scooters and the drivers often see themselves as exempt from conventions that apply to cars. Tourists who rent scooters are advised to be extremely careful. Foreign pedestrians and drivers should be constantly alert to the possibility of a scooter's sudden presence! Traffic lights are limited and often disregarded. In northern Italy drivers should be aware of fog and poor visibility in the winter months. Roadside assistance is Italy is excellent on the well-maintained toll roads, but limited on secondary roads. Headlights must be on at all times outside urban areas and the wearing of safety belts is mandatory.