Italy Travel And Hotel Guide

Despite what you hear about the Mafia, most of the crime you’re likely to come crossways in Italy is of the small-time variety, prevalent in the major cities and the south of the country, where gangs of scippatori or “snatchers” operate. Crowded streets or markets and packed tourist sights are the places to be wary of; scippatori work on foot or on scooters, disappearing before you’ve had time to react. As well as handbags, they whip wallets, tear off visible jewellery and, if they’re really adroit, unstrap watches.You can minimize the risk of this happening by being discreet: don’t flash anything of value, keep a firm hand on your camera, and carry shoulderbags, as Italian women do, slung crossways your body. It’s a good idea, too, to entrust money and credit cards to hotel managers. Never leave anything valuable in your car, and try to park in car parks on well-lit, well-used streets. On the whole it’s common sense to refrain badly lit areas completely at night and deserted inner-city areas by day. Confronted with a robber, your best bet is to submit meekly: it’s an excitable situation where panic can lead to violence - though very few tourists see anything of this.