Showing posts with label Autostrada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autostrada. Show all posts

Friday, March 17, 2006

Info about Driving in Italy

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 14 May 2009)

Here are the links about Driving in Italy:

AUTOMOBILE CLUBS
AUTOSTRADA
COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS
 DISTANCE BETWEEN CITIES
DRIVING
INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT (IDP)
LIMITED TRAFFIC AREAS
OBSERVATIONS
  • The following are personal observations and opinions of the blog writer based on driving in Italy:
    • There are many 2 lane roads in Italy. Some roads are marked with lines in the center of the road and others have none.
    • Many Italian drivers will drive in a manner to take up two lanes or drive in the middle of the road.
    • I have seen too many Italian drivers not come to a complete stop for Stop signs and Red Stop lights at intersections.
    • Many Italian drivers will pass your vehicle when there are solid white or yellow lines indicating a No Passing zone.
    • Outside of many Italian cities, there are NO sidewalks. People will be walking along the side of the road wearing dark clothing and will be difficult to see at night and during inclement weather: snow or rain.
    • In many small towns, you will see a small 3 wheeled vehicle called an Ape. They are slow moving vehicles. Please exercise caution when passing these vehicles especially going up and down hills and on curves.
    • The distance to the next exit, service area or a town/city off of the Autostrata is posted on a green colored sign in white letters on the divider barrier by the left lane in kilometers. These signs are the equivalent of mile markers usually found on the right side of the road on Interstates in the USA.
PARKING
ROAD CLASSIFICATIONS
ROAD/TRAVEL CONDITIONS
ROAD SIGNS
WEATHER
  • Italy – Select from list of cities/towns in Italy – "Weatherbase is your one authoritative source for finding monthly weather records and averages for more than 16,439 cities worldwide." – Source: Weatherbase
  • italy-weather-and-maps.com – home to maps of Italy, current Italian weather conditions, and six day weather forecasts for every Italian region and province.
MISCELLANEOUS
* = Blog entry has been updated.

The above links are current. If anyone has any suggestions for other sites, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google .

Please note: If you want me to reply by email, please include your email address in a separate comment. I will NOT publish any comments with an email address.

It is important to note that while many rental car web sites do not state that you should have an International Driving Permit (IDP), it is required to avoid paying a fine in the event you have an accident and/or are asked to show it along with your drivers license issued by the state (USA) you reside in to the Italian police. The risk by not having an IDP is having your rental car impounded and being detained by the Italian police. For the $10.00 fee paid to American Automobile Association (AAA) or to the National Automobile Club, its a small price to pay for piece of mind if you are renting a car in Italy. Please note: Only 2 organizations in the U.S. are authorized by the State Department to offer an International Drivers' Permit, the National Automobile Club and American Automobile Association.

You'll hear a lot about driving in Italy. For some individuals it will be a challenge because of the various types of vehicles that are on the road in Italy and the behavior of some of the drivers. I have driven in Italy since the late 80's on vacation and have had no problems and more importantly, no accidents. UPDATE: On 16 January 2008, I had my first accident in Italy and Europe. If you hate city driving in the States, I can tell you it is a lot worse in the medium to large Italian cities.

Remember take you time to go from to place to place and be careful. I would suggest and recommend picking up a good map for the specific region(s) you are driving in Italy. You do not need a book of maps to carry around with you.

Several rental car companies and travel agencies offer GPS units for rental cars. While they are a nice to have item, most of these GPS units cover only 80% of Italy. However, note where you are traveling to in Italy. Normally, you can get to most major cities and town but if you go off the beaten path, you'll find out how much is NOT covered by the GPS unit.

That's it for Friday, 17 March 2006: venerdì, 17 marzo 2006.

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

Today’s quote is an Italian proverb, author unknown.

"Più che le parole persuadano gli esempi."
"Actions speak louder than words."

Please read my wife's blog about our life in Italy:

Friends and Family in Italy

Going to Spain, read my new blog:

Info About, For or On Spain – a source of links About, For or On Spain for those individuals traveling or already living in Spain.

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 14 May 2009)
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Info About, For or On Rome, Italy

la(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 4 August 2008)

Here are the links for Rome, Italy

AIRPORT INFORMATION
 AUTOSTRADA
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 BOOKS
CELL PHONES
 CHRISTMAS
 CHURCHES (OTHER) AND SYNAGOGUES
 CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
 COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS
COMUNE INFORMATION
 ENTERTAINMENT AND NIGHTLIFE
 EVENTS
 EXPATS
FOOD STORES
HANDICAPPED TRAVELER'S INFORMATION
 HISTORY
 KIDS
 LANGUAGE
 LAZIO REGION
  • Lazio – The ancient heartland of the Roman Empire, the Papal State and Italy – is based on the photographic collection of René Seindal and Valentina Derito. Other photographs have been contributed by Tina Seindal.
  • Lazio Guide Italy – Lazio is the region around Rome. With endless attractions, a unique cultural heritage and the incomparable charm of the Eternal City, this region can be visited at any time of the year.– Source: travelplan.it
  • Lazio, Italy - today's weather in Italy – Source: italy-weather-and-maps.com
MARKETS
MEETING OTHERS IN ROME
  • EuroCircle is an informal network of Europe-friendly men and women. It has no political, religious, or ethnic affiliations. Eurocircle.com is a place where you can exchange ideas, tips, professional contacts and more. You can meet people offline at local events, online through the membership features or via the forums. EuroCircle has many Circles worldwide from London to Los Angeles, from Munich to Madrid
  • friendsinrome.com – "enjoy rome with new friends!"
  • Rome Village – English Community Network
  • See also CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS and EXPATS above.
MISCELLANEOUS
 NEWCOMER'S INFORMATION
 ONLINE MAPS
ONLINE AND PRINTED PUBLICATIONS
  • MAGAZINES
    • In Rome Now beyond the guidebooks – Benvenuto! We are two Americans living in Rome, a city we love and have gotten to know well. We created this Internet magazine in order to share our knowledge and enthusiasm with other English speakers. It's designed to make visiting or living in Rome a richer experience.
    • Inside the Vatican
    • Italy Magazine – THE NO.1 MAGAZINE FOR LOVERS OF ALL THINGS ITALIAN
    • List of Italian Magazines – Source: CO.IN. Cooperative Integrate ONLUS – In Italian Only
    • Timeout: Rome
    • Wanted in Rome online – is the web version of Wanted in Rome, a fortnightly magazine published in English, on sale in Rome. Read by the foreign community resident in the city, Wanted in Rome on line contains news and information about events and cultural activities throughout Italy and has a large classified advertising section
    • WhereRome – "THE LEADING MAGAZINE FOR VISITORS" – In English, Italian
  • NEWSPAPERS – In Italian Only
    • Corriere della Sera (English) – "For those who do not read Italian this may be the most helpful newspaper. For this reason it tops our list. Unfortunately Corriere della Sera, which is Italy's most prominent newspaper, no longer furnishes a column in English to the International Herald Tribune published in Italy. However this link will take you to a series of articles , written in English. They are a few days old but better than nothing. A good place to start for up-to-date information about Italy in English. (Daily except Sunday)" – Source: Ciao*Italy – Not published in Rome.
    • Il Manifesto – A daily paper with decidedly leftist leanings published in Rome. It has always been very political and is currently undergoing financial difficulties.
    • Il Messagero is the most popular daily newspaper in Rome.
    • Il Tempo – A daily traditionally conservative newspaper published in Rome.
    • List of Italian Newspapers – Source: CO.IN. Cooperative Integrate ONLUS
  • SEE ALSO:
ONLINE (INTERNET) RADIO AND TV
 PETS
PHOTOGRAPHS OF ROME AND ITALY
  • Photo Archive – is based on the photographic collection of René Seindal and Valentina Derito. Other photographs have been contributed by Tina Seindal.
REAL ESTATE
RESTAURANTS
 SCHOOLS/UNIVERSITIES
 SHOPPING
SIGHTSEEING
 SPORTS
 STRIKES, DEMONSTRATIONS AND PROTEST MARCHES
TOURISM
TRAVELERS’ HEALTH
TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL
U.S. EMBASSY
THE VATICAN
 VIRTUAL TOURS AND WEB CAMS
VISA AND PERMITS
 WEATHER
  • italy-weather-and-maps.com – home to maps of Italy, current Italian weather conditions, and six day weather forecasts for every Italian region and province.
  • Rome, Italy – "Weatherbase is your one authoritative source for finding monthly weather records and averages for more than 16,439 cities worldwide." – Source: Weatherbase
  • Rome, Italy – Forecast – Source: Weather Underground
  • The Weather Reporter: Italy – As a supplement to our weather forecast page we have selected a collection of links to those webcams that make it possible to see the weather as it is right now throughout Italy– Source: Italy in a Flash
WEB SITES
  • Activitaly is an on-line guide to Rome which outlines all useful information on planning your holiday in Rome and Central Italy through the promotion of well consolidated establishments which operate in the tourist, cultural and entertainment industry.
  • Enjoy Rome: Cityguide – Source: Enjoy Rome by Travelabout
  • GOTOROMA.com – Free guide to tourism in Rome, hotels in Rome, apartments in Rome, Rome restaurants
  • In Rome Now beyond the guidebooks – This web site has been very slow in responding.
  • Roma 2000 – "This site is born to give information to tourists on the services and artistic heritage of Rome".
  • romebuddy.com – Rome tourist information and guide
  • romaclick.com is a guide for tourism in Rome, Italy
  • Romexplorer.com
  • RomeExplorer.it – In Italian Only
  • RomeOnLine.net – In Italian Only
  • RomeOnLine.net – This is the English version of the renowed RomaOnLine Italian site. If you understand the Italian language, we strongly encourage you to visit the main site, because it sports a number of extra sections.
  • Things to do in Rome – Source: VIATOR, Inc.
  • What's on in Rome is run by Stephanie Westbrook of WebFabbrica, a web design company in Rome. The site was created to provide the English speaking community of Rome as well as visitors to the city with information on concerts, opera performances, art and photography exhibitions, dance, film, theatre, sports and festivals.
WI-FI HOTSPOTS
 WORKING
* = Blog entry has been updated.

The above links are current. If anyone has any suggestions for other sites, please feel free to post your comment and I'll update this blog entry. For your specific interest, please search the web for further information using Google .

When trying to find an apartment or vacation accommodations in Rome, it's best to ask around from friends, colleagues at work, etc. for recommendations. I have listed a few above that I have found on the web. The same goes for restaurants.

Where does one start? There are hundreds of guide books and/or web sites where you can choose which one you like that provides the information on Rome for your style and type of travel. It's a pick and choose thing. Some portions of books and/or web sites may have information that you are interested in for this trip and you can choose to ignore other information not of interest to you.

HINT: If you own the guide book, take only the portions that you are interested in with you. Tear out the pages you want and leave the rest back at your home/apartment/condo or wherever you live. You do not have to take the whole guide book with you on your travels.

The above is just a sampling of what can be found about, for or on Rome on the Internet. I'll be returning to this blog entry and updating it with new items.

That's it for Tuesday, 13 December 2005: martedì, 13 Dicembre 2005

Buon Natale a tutti e Felice Nuovo Anno!

Ciao, Ben

Moving2Italy2 – #1 source of links About, For or On Italy for those individuals moving, traveling or already living in Italy.

Today’s quote is an Italian proverb, author unknown.

"Tutte le strade portano a Roma."
"All streets lead to Rome."

(LAST EDITED/UPDATED: 4 August 2008)
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