In the Country

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Italy: In the Country

Accommodation

Hotels: There are about 40,000 hotels, with rates varying according to class, season, service and location. There are many hotels in Rome, but it is still advisable to book in advance. Rates are often high and there are a lot of supplements.
See the National association of hotels website (Federalberghi)
Rentals: Rental of villas, apartments and chalets in most holiday resorts.
VillaRentItaly
Rentals with local people: A room to rent in an apartment. A good way to get to know life in an Italian home.
Easystanza.it
Camping and caravanning: Camping is very popular. The local tourist office in the nearest town can supply details on the best sites. Big campsites rent out tents and caravans and there are more than 2,100 campsites to choose from across the country.
Look at the 'Azienda Autonoma Soggiorno e turismo' website in the location where you would like to go.
Youth Hostels: There are more than 100 youth hostels which are members of the Youth Hostel Association. During the summer you must book in advance.
HostelWorld
Hotel Rules: The price is given per room, taxes included. VAT (IVA in Italy) is 10% (19% in luxury hotels) on the price of rooms only.

Price Indications

Economy Room	about 40€
Medium Price Room	about 60€
Good Quality Room	over 80€

Source: Lonely Planet

Eating Out

Categories of Restaurant
Restaurants: Restaurants can just as easily be quite economical as very expensive. Each one has its specialties according to region and type.
Restaurants - Trattorie: They are more typical and may be family- run.
Pizzerias: You can find pizzerias all over Italy; usually a pizza is cheap and satisfactory.
Rules For Eating Out: Restaurants generally open at 12 noon for lunch and at 7pm for dinner. You ask for the bill and pay after the meal.

Price Indications

Economy Meal	about 10€
Medium Price Meal	15-20€
Good Quality Meal	over 20€

Food Specialties: Italian cuisine is internationally renowned for its use of quality olive oil and for its pasta.

Antipasto is considered to be the traditional hors-d'oeuvre and means ‘before the meal’. The contents of antipasto vary considerably by region, but often include some of the following: cured meats, olives, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses, various cured meats and vegetables marinated in olive oil (aubergines, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.).
Some famous dishes include: marinated aubergines, aubergines parmigiana (aubergines baked with Parmesan and mozzarella), asparagus with Parmigiano Reggiano, broccoli alla romana, scalopina alla milanese, pizza, risotto alla Milanese or a wide variety of pasta dishes (lasagne, spaghetti, ravioli, etc.).

Desserts often vary by region, but some famous examples include: tiramisu, zabaione (or zabaglione), cassata, panna cotta and gelato.

There is a wide variety of quality cheeses to be found in Italy such as: Gorgonzola, Parmesan, mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta and many others.
Drinks: Italian wines are well-known abroad. They are named according to region of origin and type of grape. Some famous examples include Chianti (Tuscany), Nobile di Montepulciano (Tuscany), Brunello (Tuscany), Frascati (Rome), Albano (Rome), Barolo (Valle d’Aosta), Valpolicella (Vento), Cabernet (Friuli-Venezia) and Pinot Nero (Friuli- Venezia).

The most well-known aperitifs are Campari and PunteMes. Among well-known Italian liqueurs, one can choose from Amaretto, Limoncello, Grappa and Strega.

Italians often enjoy drinking a coffee or a cappuccino in a bar, usually in a hurry. Young people like going to bars in the afternoon for a tea or an aperitif. You can find plenty of bars, wine bars, pubs, etc. ready to serve aperitifs from 6pm until dinner time.
Dietary Restrictions: There are no dietary restrictions in the country.
Table Manners: When you go into a restaurant, you must wait for the waiter (or waitress) to seat you. You sit at a table and you always eat with cutlery. You wait for the waiter to change the plates and ask if you want anything else. At the end of the meal, you ask for the bill, which you pay at the table or directly at the cash desk.

Getting Around

Means of Transport Recommended in Town

Recommendation: The metro is not extensive, even in large cities.
Taxis are expensive but they are readily available in the streets. If the light is green, they are free; if it is red, they are taken. Not all drivers speak English, so make sure to have the address you are going to written down in Italian on a piece of paper.
Maps of Urban Networks: Rome Metro Map
Bus and Metro Lines in Rome
Urban Transport Agencies: Transport Agency in Rome
ATM - Transport Agency in Milan
Find an Itinerary: Calculate your journey
Find an itinerary in Milan
Find an itinerary in Palermo
Taxi Companies: Italian taxi association

Transportation From Airport to City Centre:

Airport	Distance	Taxi	Bus	Train	Car Rental
Roma - Ciampino (CIA)	15 km / 13 miles	EUR 40 / 25-40 min	EUR 8 / 40 min	EUR 1	Available
Roma - Fiumicino (FCO)	30 km / 18 miles	EUR 48 / 25-40 min	EUR 8 / 45 min	EUR 14	Available
Milano - Malpensa (MXP)	43 km / 27 miles	EUR 70-90 / 45-60 min	EUR 5 / 50 min	EUR 11 / 30-40 min	Available
Napoli - Capodichino (NAP)	6 km / 4 miles	EUR 20 / 20-35 min	EUR 18 / 20-25 min	-	Available

Means of Transport Recommended in the Rest of the Country

Recommendation: The train remains the easiest means of transport for travelling around the country and the tariffs per kilometer are more reasonably priced than in most European countries. The large cities are linked with each other: Turin-Milan-Venice, Milan-Bologna-Bari, Rome-Genoa-Turin and Rome-Naples-Palermo. It is important to note that outside of the 'Pendolini' and 'Euro star', trains do not always keep to the timetable.
Rail Companies: Italian Railway Company

Airlines

Name	Type	Domestic Flights	International Flights
ITA Airways	Major	Yes	Yes
Neos Air	Low Cost	Yes	Yes
Ryanair	Low Cost	Yes	Yes

You Can Consult The EU Air Safety List. Look Also at the rating of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Travelling By Yourself

Recommendation: Most of the road network is in good condition; however, lanes are very narrow and curves are very sharp on some motorways (Salerno-Reggio di Calabria for example). This can make the roads dangerous when driving at excessive speeds.
Driver's License: Tourists who have a driver's license from a European Union State can drive in Italy. People who have a license from outside the EU must have with their license an authorization issued by their country of origin translated into Italian. For further information, consult the Italian Ministry of Transport website.
Conditions For Renting a Vehicle: The minimum age is 18. Renting a car is not very expensive.
Rental Agencies: To rent a car in Italy
Tolls or Taxes: You can find motorway tariffs by clicking here.
Road Maps: Maps of Italian Motorways
Find an Itinerary: ViaMichelin.
Mappy
Traffic Conditions Online: Traffic conditions in Italy (in English)

Rules of the Road

Minimum Driving Age: 18
Side of the Road For Driving: Right
Speed Limits: 130 km/h on motorways ; 110 km/h on roads outside towns ; 50 km/h in town.
Safety Belts: Obligatory
Permitted Amount of Alcohol in the Blood: 0,5 grams per liter of blood
National Roads Organizations: Società autostrade per l'Italia (Italian motorway company)
Automobile Club of Italy

Time and Time Difference

Current Local Time: It is %T:%M %A In Rome, Milan
Summer Time: Summer time is from March to October.

Map of the Time Zone

Fuseau(x) horaire

Climate

Type of Climate: There is a mountain climate in the North, a continental climate in the plains and a Mediterranean climate in the coastal regions. On average, temperatures vary between 11°C and 19°C.
For Further Information: Italian Meteorological website

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Climate

Electrical Standards and Measurement Systems

System of Measurement Used: Metric system
Unit of Measurement of Temperature: Degrees Celsius (°C)

Use our service Measurement Converter.

Electricity
Voltage: 230 V
Frequency: 50 Hz
Type of Electric Socket: C, F & L
Type of Telephone Socket: Italian (2 types), US RJ-11
DVD Zoning: Zone 2

Paying

Domestic Currency: Euro
ISO Code: EUR
To Obtain Domestic Currency: There are no ATMs, but instead small bureaus with a sign saying 'change'. You can find these in all the larger towns, but they are not as common in small villages.
Possible Means of Payment: You can pay in cash or with a credit card (Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa). Checks are also taken, but they must be in EUR, GBP or USD.

To Find a Cash Machine Where You Need, Use the ATM locator

Speaking

Official Language: Italian is the official language, but there are some regions with linguistic minority groups, including Alto Adige (German) and Aoste (French).
Other Languages Spoken: The use of dialects is very common in Italy. Albanian is spoken by approximately 120,000 people (80,000 of which reside in southern Italy). Approximately 1.2 million people in Sardinia speak Sardinian, with 20,000 in the northeast also speaking Gallurese.
Business Language: An increasing number of Italians have some knowledge of English, but it is advisable to correspond in Italian for initial contact. This could speed up communication and help avoid misunderstandings. In any case, most firms are able to communicate in English.
Getting Some Knowledge: Use the travlang website.
Free Translation Tools: Evta website : To do on-line translations

Emergency Numbers

Police	113
Ambulance	118
Firemen	115
European Assistance	803803
Fire Prevention	1515

Communications

Quality of Communications: The communications network is extensive and Internet can be used everywhere. Mobile phones generally work quite well. To call abroad, you have to buy a telephone card at a tobacconist's or newsagent.
Telephone Codes: To Make a Call From Italy, Dial 00
To Make a Call to in Italy, Dial +39
Number of Digits of National Telephone Numbers: It begins with a 0 and the code for each town. The codes may be two, three or four numbers according to the size of the exchange.
Mobile Telephone Standards: The mobile phones used are GPRS.
National Mobile Phone Operators: Vodafone, Tim, WindTre.

Availability of Internet

Internet Suffix: .it
National Internet Access Providers: Tim, Fastweb, Vodafone, Tiscali, Windtre
Access in Public Places: Internet points, in bars and libraries.
Access in Hotels: Yes, in most of them.

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