Ιταλία

Italian is the official language. English is common in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan's tourist areas, but far less reliable in smaller towns and rural regions. Regional dialects remain strong in everyday speech, though standard Italian is understood everywhere.

Buying a prepaid SIM requires showing a passport, by law, for every provider. Coverage is strong in cities and along major routes, with some gaps in mountainous areas and smaller islands.

Tap water is safe to drink in cities and most of the country, though some rural or mountainous areas have less consistent infrastructure and bottled water may be preferable there; public fountains marked "acqua non potabile" (not drinkable) should always be avoided. Pharmacies (farmacia), marked with a green cross, are common and can advise on minor ailments; a rotating pharmacy stays open nights and Sundays in most areas. EU/EEA citizens' EHIC covers reciprocal state healthcare; other visitors should carry travel insurance.

Italy is part of the Schengen Area. Citizens of the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries can enter visa-free for stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period, for tourism or business. Travelers from countries without a visa-free agreement need a Schengen visa arranged in advance.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently — including a planned ETIAS travel authorization for visa-exempt visitors that has been repeatedly delayed. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Dress modestly when visiting churches — shoulders and knees covered for both men and women; some, including St. Peter's Basilica, enforce this strictly and will turn away bare shoulders or shorts. Ordering a cappuccino after a meal, especially dinner, is seen as unusual by locals, who typically drink it only in the morning; espresso is the standard after-meal choice.

Greet shopkeepers with a "buongiorno" or "buonasera" on entering, and expect a slower pace in small towns, especially during the early-afternoon lull when some shops close.

Ferragosto (August 15) is the country's biggest summer holiday, and much of Italy — especially small businesses outside tourist centers — closes for part or all of August as owners take their own vacation. Many shops in smaller towns also close for a couple of hours around midday.

Most shops close on Sundays outside tourist areas and major cities.

• By train: high-speed services (Trenitalia's Frecce trains and the private operator Italo) connect major cities quickly — Rome to Florence in about 1.5 hours, Rome to Milan in around 3. Regional trains, slower but far cheaper, reach smaller towns.
• By air: domestic flights make sense for longer north-south routes, such as Milan to Palermo, where the train takes most of a day.
• By bus: intercity coaches reach towns not well served by rail, especially in the south and in hill regions.

Venice has no cars in its historic center; getting around means walking or taking a vaporetto (water bus) along the canals.

A full traditional meal moves through courses: antipasto (starter), primo (pasta, rice, or soup), secondo (meat or fish) with a side, and dolce (dessert) — though ordering just one or two courses is completely normal outside special occasions. Regional cooking varies sharply: rich, butter- and cream-based dishes dominate in the north, tomato- and olive-oil-based cooking defines the center and south, and seafood is central along the coasts.

Coffee culture has its own rules — espresso is drunk standing at the bar, often in a couple of minutes, and is noticeably cheaper than sitting at a table. Aperitivo, an early-evening drink often served with light snacks, is a daily ritual in many cities before dinner, which itself tends to start later than in much of Europe.

Rome is the natural starting point for most visits, with ancient ruins, Renaissance art, and Vatican City's museums all within walking distance of each other. Florence concentrates a large amount of Renaissance art and architecture into a compact, walkable center, and serves as the gateway to Tuscany's hill towns and vineyards.

Venice, built across a lagoon and threaded with canals, has a layout unlike Italy's other major cities, best explored slowly and away from the crowded route between the train station and St. Mark's Square. Milan pairs a major fashion and design scene with Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper and a Gothic cathedral at its center, while Naples has a denser, more street-level pace, with heavy traffic and busy markets, along with the gateway to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.