About Italy

Increasingly, there is a trend towards more flexible opening hours. Most shops and businesses in Italy open from Monday to Saturday from around 8am until 1pm, and from about 4pm until 7pm, though many shops close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings, and in the south the day can begin and end an hour later. In the north some businesses work to a 9am-5pm day to assist international dealings. Traditionally, everything except bars and restaurants closes on Sunday, though most towns have a pasticceria open in the mornings, while in large cities and tourist areas, Sunday opening is becoming more common.The other factors that can disrupt your plans are national holidays and local saints’ days and festivals. In August , particularly during the weeks either side of Ferragosto , when most of the country flees to the coast, many towns are left half-deserted, with shops, bars and restaurants closed and a reduced public transport service. Local religious holidays don’t generally close down shops and businesses for the whole day, but they do mean that accommodation space may be tight. The country’s official national holidays , on the other hand, close everything down, except bars and restaurants. These are:

January 1 (New Year’s Day)

January 6 (Epiphany)

Pasquetta (Easter Monday)

April 25 (Liberation Day)

May 1 (Labour Day)

August 15 ( Ferragosto ; Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

November 1 ( Ognissanti ; All Souls Day)

December 8 ( Immaccolata ; Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

December 25 ( Natale ; Christmas)

December 26 ( Santo Stefano ; St Stephen’s Day)

If you need treatment , go to a doctor ( médico ); every town and village has one. Ask at a pharmacy, or consult the local Yellow Pages (under Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale or Unità Sanitaria Locale ). The Italian Yellow Pages also list some specialist practitioners in such fields as acupuncture and homeopathy, the latter much more common in Italy than in some countries. If you’re eligible, take your E111 with you to the doctor’s: this should enable you to get free treatment and prescriptions for medicines at the local rate - about ten percent of the price of the medicine. For repeat medication, take any empty bottles or capsules with you to the doctor’s - the brand obloquy often differ.If you are seriously ill or involved in an accident , go straight to the nearest hospital and go straight to Pronto Soccorso (casualty), or phone 113 and ask for ospedale or ambulanza . Throughout the Guide, you’ll find listings for pharmacists, hospitals and emergency services in all the major cities. Major train stations and airports also often have first-aid stations with eligible doctors on hand.

Incidentally, try to refrain going to the dentist ( dentista ) while you’re in Italy. These aren’t covered by the mutua or health service, and for the smallest problem you’ll pay through the teeth. Take local advice, or consult the local Yellow Pages.

If you don’t have a spare pair of glasses, take a copy of your prescription so that an optician ( óttico ) can make you up a new pair should you lose or alteration them.

An Italian pharmacist ( farmacia ) is well eligible to give you advice on minor ailments and to dispense prescriptions (most speak good English too), and there’s generally one open all night in the bigger towns and cities. A rota system operates, and you should find the address of the one currently open on any farmacia door or listed in the local paper. Condoms ( profilático ) are acquirable over the counter from all pharmacists and most supermarkets; some pharmacists have late-night dispensers too. The pill ( la píllola ) is acquirable by prescription only.

EU citizens can take advantage of Italy’s health services under the same terms as the residents of the country, but you’ll need form E111, acquirable from any main post office. The Australian Medicare system also has a reciprocal health-care arrangement with Italy.Vaccinations are not required, and Italy doesn’t present any more health worries than anywhere else in Europe; the worst that’s likely to happen to you is suffering from the extreme heat in summer or from an upset stomach (shellfish is the usual culprit). The water is perfectly innocuous to drink and you’ll find public fountains (usually button- or tap-operated) in squares and city streets everywhere, though look out for acqua non potabile signs, indicating that the water is unsafe to drink. It’s worth taking insect repellent, as even inland towns, most notoriously Milan, suffer from a continual mosquito problem, especially in summer.

The town plans we’ve printed should be fine for most purposes, and practically all tourist offices give out maps of their local area for free. However, if you want an indexed town plan, Studio FMB cover most towns and cities, and Falk and Touring Club Italiano (TCI) also do decent plans of the major cities. The clearest and best-value large-scale commercial road map of Italy is the Michelin 1:1,000,000 one; Michelin also produce 1:400,000 maps covering the whole of Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia, which are equally good value. There are also the 1:800,000 and 1:400,000 maps produced by the Touring Club Italiano, covering north, south and central Italy, although these are a little more expensive; TCI also produce excellent 1:200,000 maps of the individual regions, which are indispensable if you are touring a specific area in depth. Alternatively, the Automobile Club d’Italia issues a good, free 1:275,000 road map, acquirable from State Tourist Offices. Local tourist offices also often have road maps of varying calibre to give away.For hiking you’ll need at least a scale of 1:50,000. Studio FMB and the TCI cover the major mountain areas of northern Italy to this scale, but for more detailed, down-to-scale 1:25,000 maps, the Istituto Geografico Centrale series covers central and northwest Italy and the Alps; Kompass also publish these areas to the same scale. The Apennines and Tuscany are covered by Multigraphic (Firenze), easiest bought in Italy, while Tabacco produce a good series detailing the Dolomites and the northeast of the country. In Italy, the Club Alpino Italiano is a good source of hiking maps; we’ve supplied details of branches throughout the Guide.