Fast Facts

American Express -- Travel agencies representing AmEx are found in large cities, including La Duca Viaggi, Viale Africa 14, in Catania (tel. 095-7222295); La Duca Viaggi, Via Don Bosco 39, in Taormina (tel. 0942-625255); and Giovanni Ruggieri e Figli, Emerico Armari 40, in Palermo (tel. 091-587144).

Business Hours -- Regular business hours are generally Monday through Saturday from 8 or 9am to 1pm and 4 to 7 or 8pm. The riposo (midafternoon closing) is observed in Sicily. If you're on the island in summer, when the heat is intense, you too may want to learn the custom of riposo, retreating back to your hotel for a long nap during the hottest part of the day. Banking hours vary from town to town, but in general are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 1:20pm and 3 to 4pm.

Drugstores -- Every farmacia (drugstore) posts a list of those that are open at night and on Sunday.

Electricity -- The electricity in Sicily varies considerably. It's usually alternating current (AC); the cycle is 50Hz 220V. Check the exact local current at the hotel where you're staying. We recommend obtaining a transformer if you're carrying any electrical appliances. Plugs have prongs that are round, not flat; therefore, an adapter plug is also needed.

Embassies & Consulates -- There's a U.S. Consulate at Via Vaccarini 1, in Palermo (tel. 091-305857). The nearest U.S. Embassy is in Rome, at Via Vittorio Veneto 119A (tel. 06-46-741).

The Canadian Embassy is at Via G. B. de Rossi 27, in Rome (tel. 06-445-981).

There's a U.K. Consulate at Via Cavour 117, in Palermo (tel. 091-326412), and a U.K. Embassy at Via XX Settembre 80A, in Rome (tel. 06-422-00001).

The Irish Embassy is at Piazza di Campitelli 3, in Rome (tel. 06-697-9121). For consular queries, call tel. 06-697-9121.

The Australian Embassy is at Via Antonio Bosio 15, in Rome (tel. 06-852-721). The New Zealand Embassy is at Via Zara 28, in Rome (tel. 06-441-7171).

Emergencies -- For the police, dial tel. 113; for an ambulance, tel. 118; and to report a fire, tel. 115. For road assistance, dial tel. 116. For a general crisis, call the Carabinieri (army police corps) at tel. 112.

Language -- Except in remote backwaters, Italian, of course, is the language of the land. English is often understood at attractions such as museums and at most hotels and restaurants catering to foreigners. Even if not all of the staff speaks English at a particular establishment, such as a restaurant, sometimes at least one member of the staff does and can aid you. Most islanders also speak a Sicilian dialect. This is a patois comprised of words left over from various conquerors, including Arabic, Greek, French, and Spanish. It's a sort of linguistic amalgam, reflecting centuries of occupation (including American occupation).

Legal Aid -- The consulate of your country is the place to turn for legal aid, although offices can't interfere in the Italian legal process. They can, however, inform you of your rights and provide a list of attorneys. You'll have to pay for the attorney out of your pocket -- there's no free legal assistance. If you're arrested for a drug offense, about all the consulate will do is notify a lawyer about your case and perhaps inform your family. If the problem is serious enough, most nationals will be referred to their embassies or consulates in Rome.

Liquor Laws -- Wine with meals has been a normal part of family life for hundreds of years in Sicily. Children are exposed to wine at an early age, and consumption of alcohol isn't anything out of the ordinary. There's no legal drinking age for buying or ordering alcohol. Alcohol is sold day and night throughout the year because there's almost no restriction on the sale of wine or liquor in Sicily.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen. Your credit card company or insurer also may require you file a police report and provide a report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. Visa's emergency number in Italy is tel. 800-819; call collect. American Express cardholders should call collect tel. 06/7220-348. MasterCard holders should call collect tel. 800-870-866.

Identity theft and fraud are potential complications of losing your wallet, especially if you've lost your driver's license along with your cash and credit cards. Notify the major credit-reporting bureaus immediately; placing a fraud alert on your records may protect you against liability for criminal activity. The three major U.S. credit-reporting agencies are Equifax (tel. 800/766-0008; www.equifax.com), Experian (tel. 888/397-3742; www.experian.com), and TransUnion (tel. 800/680-7289; www.transunion.com). Finally, if you've lost all forms of photo ID, call your airline and explain; they might allow you to board the plane if you have a copy of your passport or birth certificate and a copy of the police report you've filed. If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com).

Mail -- Mail delivery in Italy is notoriously bad. Your family and friends back home might receive your postcards in 1 week, or it could take 2 weeks (sometimes longer). Postcards, aerogrammes, and letters weighing up to 20 grams sent to the United States and Canada cost .80€ (95¢); to the United Kingdom, .62€ (75¢); and to Australia and New Zealand, 1€ ($1.20). You can buy stamps at post offices and tabacchi (tobacco shops).

Newspapers & Magazines -- In major cities, hotels and news kiosks often carry the International Herald Tribune and USA Today, as well as other English-language newspapers and magazines such as Time and Newsweek -- but they're hard to find elsewhere. There are no English-language magazines or newspapers published in Sicily.

Passports For Residents of the United States: -- Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov. For general information, call the National Passport Agency (tel. 202/647-0518). To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center (tel. 877/487-2778).

For Residents of Canada: -- Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).

For Residents of the United Kingdom: -- To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children younger than 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency; contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410; or go to www.ukpa.gov.uk.

For Residents of Ireland: -- You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those younger than 18 and older than 65 must apply for a 12€ ($14.40) 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/494-4700) and at most main post offices.

For Residents of Australia: -- You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of New Zealand: -- You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from the website. Call the Passports Office (tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand, or 04/474-8100) or go to www.passports.govt.nz.

Police -- Dial tel. 113, the all-purpose number for police emergency assistance in Italy.

Restrooms -- All airport and rail stations have toilets, often with attendants who expect to be tipped. Bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, gas stations, and hotels have facilities as well. Public toilets are also found near many of the major sights. Usually they're designated WC (water closet), or donne (women) or uomini (men). The most confusing designation is signori (gentlemen) and signore (ladies), so watch that final i and e! Many public toilets charge a small fee or employ an attendant who expects a tip. Carry tissues in your pocket or purse -- they come in handy.

Taxes -- As a member of the European Union (E.U.), Italy imposes a value-added tax (called IVA in Italy) on most goods and services. The tax that most affects visitors is the one imposed on hotel rates, which ranges from 9% in first- and second-class hotels to 19% in deluxe hotels.

Non-E.U. citizens are entitled to a refund of the IVA if they spend more than 155€ ($186) at any one store, before tax. To claim your refund, request an invoice from the cashier at the store and take it to the dogana (Customs office) at the airport to have it stamped before you leave. Note: If you're going to another E.U. country before flying home, have it stamped at the airport Customs office of the last E.U. country you'll be in (for example, if you're flying home via Britain, have your Italian invoices stamped in London). Once back home, mail the stamped invoice (keep a photocopy for your records) back to the original vendor within 90 days of the purchase. The vendor will, sooner or later, send you a refund of the tax that you paid at the time of your purchase. Reputable stores view this as a matter of ordinary paperwork and are businesslike about it. Less-honorable stores might lose your dossier. It pays to deal with established vendors on large purchases. You can also request that the refund be credited to the credit card with which you made the purchase; this is usually faster.

Many shops are now part of the "Tax Free for Tourists" network (look for the sticker in the window). Stores participating in this network issue a check along with your invoice at the time of purchase. After you have the invoice stamped at Customs, you can redeem the check for cash directly at the Tax Free booth in the airport at Palermo or Catania, or mail it back in the envelope provided within 60 days.

Telephones -- To call Italy from the United States, dial the international prefix, 011; then Italy's country code, 39; and then the city code (for example, 091 for Palermo or 095 for Catania), which is now built into every number. Then dial the actual phone number.

A local phone call in Italy costs around .10€ (12¢). Public phones accept coins, precharged phone cards (scheda or carta telefonica), or both. You can buy a carta telefonica at any tabacchi (tobacco shop; most display a sign with a white T on a brown background) in increments of 2.50€ ($3), 5€ ($6), and 7.50€ ($9). To make a call, pick up the receiver and insert .10€ or your card (break off the corner first). Most phones have a digital display that'll tell you how much money you've inserted (or how much is left on the card). Dial the number, and don't forget to take the card with you after you hang up.

To call from one city code to another, dial the city code, complete with initial 0, and then dial the number. (Note that numbers in Sicily range from four to eight digits in length. Even when you're calling within the same city, you must dial that city's area code -- including the zero. A Catanian calling another Catanian number must dial 095 before the local number.)

To dial direct internationally, dial 00 and then the country code, the area code, and the number. Country codes are as follows: the United States and Canada, 1; the United Kingdom, 44; Ireland, 353; Australia, 61; New Zealand, 64. Make international calls from a public phone, if possible, as hotels almost invariably charge ridiculously inflated rates for direct dial. Calls dialed directly are billed on the basis of the call's duration only. A reduced rate is applied Monday through Saturday from 11pm to 8am and all day Sunday. Direct-dial calls from the United States to Sicily are much cheaper, so arrange to be called at your hotel if possible.

Italy has recently introduced a series of international phone cards (scheda telefonica internazionale) for calling overseas. They come in increments of 50, 100, 200, and 400 unita (units), and they're usually available at tabacchi and bars. Each unita is worth .15€ of phone time; it costs 5 unita (.65€) per minute to call within Europe or to the United States or Canada, and 12 unita (1.55€) per minute to call Australia or New Zealand. You don't insert this card into the phone; merely dial tel. 1740 and then *2 (star 2) for instructions in English, when prompted.

For free national telephone information (in Italian) in Italy, dial tel. 12. For international information, dial tel. 176 but be prepared to pay .60€ (72¢) a shot.

To make collect or calling-card calls, drop in .10€ or insert your card and dial one of the numbers here; an American operator will shortly come on to assist you (because Sicily has yet to discover the joys of the touch-tone phone, you'll have to wait for the operator to come on). The following calling-card numbers work all over Italy: AT&T, tel. 172-1011; MCI, tel. 172-401; and Sprint, tel. 172-1877. To make collect calls to a country besides the United States, dial tel. 170 (free), and practice your Italian in order to relay the number to the Italian operator. Tell him or her that you want it a carico del destinatario.

Don't count on all Sicilian phones to have touch-tone service. You might not be able to access your voice mail or answering machine from Sicily.

Time Zone -- Sicily is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. Daylight saving time goes into effect in Italy each year from the end of March to the end of September.

Tipping -- In hotels, the service charge of 15% to 19% is already added to your bill. In addition, it's customary to tip the chambermaid .50€ (60¢) per day, the doorman (for calling a cab) .50€ (60¢), and the bellhop or porter 1.50€ to 2.50€ ($1.80-$3) for carrying bags to your room. The concierge expects about 15% of his or her bill, as well as tips for extra services performed, which may include help with long-distance calls. In expensive hotels, these amounts are often doubled.

In restaurants and cafes, 15% is usually added to your bill to cover most charges. If you're not sure whether this has been done, ask, "E incluso il servizio?" (ay een-cloo-soh eel sair-vee-tsoh?). An additional tip isn't expected, but it's nice to leave the equivalent of an extra couple of dollars if you're pleased with the service. Restaurants are required by law to give customers official receipts. Checkroom attendants expect .75€ (90¢); washroom attendants, .35€ (42¢).

Taxi drivers -- expect at least 15% of the fare.

Water -- Most Sicilians take mineral water with their meals; however, tap water is safe everywhere, as are public drinking fountains. Unsafe sources will be marked ACQUA NON POTABILE. If tap water comes out cloudy, it's only the calcium or other minerals inherent in a water supply that often comes untreated from fresh springs.