Fast Facts

Area Codes-- Italy no longer uses separate city codes. Dial all numbers exactly as written in this book, and you should be fine.

Business Hours-- General open hours for stores, offices, and churches are from 9:30am to noon or 1pm and again from 3 or 3:30pm to 7:30pm. That early afternoon shutdown is the riposo, the Italian siesta. Most stores close all day Sunday and many also on Monday (morning only or all day). Some shops, especially grocery stores, also close Thursday afternoons. Some services and business offices are open to the public only in the morning. Traditionally, museums are closed Mondays, and though some of the biggest stay open all day long, many close for riposo or are only open in the morning (9am-2pm is popular). Some churches open earlier in the morning, but the largest often stay open all day. Banks tend to be open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm and 2:30 to 3:30pm or 3 to 4pm.

Use the riposo as the Italians do -- take a long lunch, stroll through a city park, cool off in the Duomo, travel to the next town, or simply go back to your hotel to regroup your energies. The riposo is an especially welcome custom during the oppressive afternoon heat of August.

Drugstores-- You'll find green neon crosses above the entrances to most farmacie (pharmacies). You'll also find many erborista (herbalist) shops, which usually offer more traditional herbal remedies (some of which are marvelously effective) along with the standard pharmaceuticals. Most farmacie of any stripe keep everything behind the counter, so be prepared to point or pantomime. Some help: Most minor ailments start with the phrase mal di in Italian, so you can just say "Mahl dee" and point to your head, stomach, throat, or whatever. Pharmacies rotate which will stay open all night and on Sundays, and each store has a poster outside showing the month's rotation.

Electricity-- Italy operates on a 220 volts AC (50 cycles) system, as opposed to the United States' 110 volts AC (60 cycle) system. You'll need a simple adapter plug (to make our flat pegs fit their round holes) and, unless your appliance is dual-voltage (as some hair dryers and travel irons are), a currency converter.

For more information, call or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to The Franzus Company, Customer Service Dept., B50, Murtha Industrial Park, Box 142, Beacons Falls, CT 06403 (tel. 800/706-7064 or 203/723-6664; www.franzus.com). It'll send you a pamphlet called Foreign Electricity Is No Deep Dark Secret, with, of course, a convenient order form for adapters and converters on the back. You can also pick up the hardware at electronics, travel specialty stores, luggage shops, airports, and from Magellan's catalog (www.magellans.com).

Embassies/Consulates-- The U.S. Embassy is in Rome at Via Vittorio Veneto 119a (tel. 06-46-741; fax 06-488-2672 or 06-4674-2217); www.usembassy.it. The U.S. consulate in Florence -- for passport and consular services but not visas -- is at Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci 38 (tel. 055-266-951; fax 055-284-088), open to drop-ins Monday through Friday from 9am to 12:30pm. Afternoons 2 to 4:30pm, the consulate is open by appointment only; call ahead. The U.K. Embassy is in Rome at Via XX Settembre 80a (tel. 06-4220-0001; fax 06-4220-2334; www.UKinitalia.it), open Monday through Friday from 9:15am to 1:30pm. The U.K. consulate in Florence is at Lungarno Corsini 2 (tel. 055-284-133; fax 055-219-112). It's open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 12:30pm and 2:30 to 4:30pm.

Of English-speaking countries, only the United States and Great Britain have consulates in Florence. Citizens of other countries must go to their consulates in Rome for help: The Canadian consulate in Rome is at Via Zara 30, on the fifth floor (tel. 06-445-981 or 06-44598-2905; www.canada.it), open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 4pm. Australia's Rome consulate is at Via Alessandria 215 (tel. 06-852-721; fax 06-8527-2300; www.australian-embassy.it). The consular section is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to noon and 1:30 to 4pm. The immigration and visa office is open Monday to Thursday 10am to noon; telephone hours are from 10 to 11:30am. New Zealand's Rome consulate is at Via Zara 28 (tel. 06-441-7171; fax 06-440-2984), open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 12:45pm and 1:45 to 5pm.

Emergencies-- Dial tel. 113 for any emergency. You can also call tel. 112 for the carabinieri (police), tel. 118 for an ambulance, or tel. 115 for the fire department. If your car breaks down, dial tel. 116 for roadside aid courtesy of the Automotive Club of Italy.

Hospitals-- The emergency ambulance number is tel. 118. Hospitals in Italy are partially socialized, and the care is efficient, very personalized, and of a high quality. There are also well-run private hospitals. Pharmacy staff also tend to be very competent health-care providers, so for less serious problems their advice will do fine. For non-life-threatening, but still concerning, ailments you can just walk into most hospitals and get taken care of speedily -- no questions about insurance policies, no forms to fill out, and no fees to pay. Most hospitals will be able to find someone who speaks English, but there's also a Florence-based free medical translator service available by calling tel. 055-425-0126.

Internet Access-- Cybercafes are in healthy supply in most Italian cities. In smaller towns you may have a bit of trouble, but increasingly hotels are setting up Internet points. In a pinch, hostels, local libraries, and, often, pubs will have a terminal for access.

Language-- Though Italian is the local language around these parts, English is a close second, especially amongst anyone below about age 40 since they all learned it in school. Anyone in the tourism industry will know the English they need to help smooth transactions with you. Besides, most Italians are delighted to help you learn a bit of their lingo as you go.

Liquor Laws-- Driving drunk is illegal and not a smart idea on any road -- never mind Italy's twisty, narrow roads. Legal drinking age in Italy is 16, but that's just on paper. Public drunkenness (aside from people getting noisily tipsy and flush at big dinners) is unusual except among some street people -- usually among foreign vagabonds, not the Italian homeless.

Lost & Found-- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police 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.

To report a lost or stolen card, call the following Italian toll-free numbers: Visa at tel. 800-819-014, MasterCard at tel. 800-870-866, or American Express at tel. 800-872-000, or collect tel. 336-393-1111 from anywhere in the world. As a back up, write down the collect-call number that appears on the back of each of your cards (not the toll-free number -- you can't dial those from abroad; if one doesn't appear, call the card company and ask).

Identity theft or 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 the situation; 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.

Mail-- The Italian mail system is notoriously slow, and friends back home may not receive your postcards or aerograms for up to 8 weeks (sometimes longer). Postcards, aerograms, and letters, weighing up to 20 grams (.7 oz.), to North America cost .52€, to the United Kingdom and Ireland .41€, and to Australia and New Zealand .52€.

Newspapers & Magazines-- The International Herald Tribune (published by the New York Times and with news catering to Americans abroad) and USA Today are available at just about every newsstand, even in smaller towns. You can find the Wall Street Journal Europe, European editions of Time and Newsweek, and often the London Times at some of the larger kiosks.

Police-- For emergencies, call tel. 113. Italy has several different police forces, but there are only two you'll most likely ever need to deal with. The first is the urban polizia, whose city headquarters is called the questura and can help with lost and stolen property. The most useful branch -- the cops to go to for serious problems and crimes -- is the carabinieri (tel. 112), a national order-keeping, crime-fighting civilian police force.

Restrooms-- Public toilets are going out of fashion in northern Italy, but most bars will let you use their bathrooms without a scowl or forcing you to buy anything. Ask "Posso usare il bagno?" (poh-soh oo-zar-eh eel ban-yo). Donne/signore are women and uomini/signori men. Train stations usually have a bathroom, for a fee, often of the two-bricks-to-stand-on-and-a-hole-in-the-floor Turkish toilet variety. In many of the public toilets that remain, the little old lady with a basket has been replaced by a coin-op turnstile.

Safety-- Other than the inevitable pickpockets, especially in Florence, random violent crime is practically unheard of in the country. You won't find quite as many gypsy pickpocketing children as in Rome, but they have started roving the Santa Maria Novella area of Florence in packs and have even shown up in cities as far off the beaten path as Cortona. If you see a small group or pair of dirty children coming at you, often waving cardboard and jabbering in Ital-English, yell "Va via!" (go away) or simply "No!," or invoke the polizia. If they get close enough to touch you, push them away forcefully -- don't hold back because they're kids -- otherwise within a nanosecond you and your wallet will be permanently separated.

There are plenty of locals, of course, who prey on tourists as well, especially around tourist centers like the Uffizi and the Duomo in Florence. In general, just be smart. Keep your passport, traveler's checks, credit and ATM cards (if you feel the need to), and a photocopy of all your important documents under your clothes in a money belt or neck pouch. For women: There's occasional drive-by purse snatching in Florence by young moped-mounted thieves. Keep your purse on the wall side of the sidewalk and sling the strap across your chest. If your purse has a flap, keep the clasp side facing your body. For men: Keep your wallet in your front pocket and perhaps loop a rubber band around it. (The rubber catches on the fabric of your pocket and makes it harder for a thief to slip the wallet out easily.)

Taxes-- There's no sales tax added onto the price tag of your purchases, but there is a value-added tax (in Italy: IVA) automatically included in just about everything. For major purchases, you can get this refunded. Some five-star and four-star hotels don't include the 13% luxury tax in their quoted prices. Ask when making your reservation.

Telephones/Fax-- Local calls in Italy cost .10€. There are three types of public pay phones: those that take coins only, those that take both coins and phone cards, and those that take only phone cards (carta or scheda telefonica). You can buy these prepaid phone cards at any tabacchi (tobacconists), most newsstands, and some bars in several denominations from 1€ to 7.50€. Break off the corner before inserting it; a digital display tracks how much money is left on the card as you talk. Don't forget to take the card with you when you leave!

For operator-assisted international calls (in English), dial toll-free tel. 170. Note, however, that you'll get better rates by calling a home operator for collect calls, as detailed here: To make calling card calls, insert a phone card or .10€ -- it'll be refunded at the end of your call -- and dial the local number for your service. For Americans: AT&T at tel. 172-1011, MCI at tel. 172-1022, or Sprint at tel. 172-1877. These numbers will raise an American operator for you, and you can use any one of them to place a collect call even if you don't carry that phone company's card. Canadians can reach Teleglobe at tel. 172-1001. Brits can call BT at tel. 172-0044 or Mercury at tel. 172-0544. The Irish can get a home operator at tel. 172-0353. Australians can use Optus by calling tel. 172-1161 or Telstra at tel. 172-1061. And New Zealanders can phone home at tel. 172-1064.

To dial direct internationally from Italy, dial tel. 00, 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 because hotels charge ridiculously inflated rates for direct dial, but take along plenty of schede to feed the phone.

To call free national telephone information (in Italian) in Italy, dial tel. 12. International information for Europe is available at tel. 176 but costs .60€ (80¢) a shot. For international information beyond Europe, dial tel. 1790 for .50€ (65¢).

Your hotel will most likely be able to send or receive faxes for you, sometimes at inflated prices, sometimes at cost. Otherwise, most cartoleria (stationery stores), copista or fotocopie (photocopy shops), and some tabacchi (tobacconists) offer fax services.

Time Zone-- Italy is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. When it's noon in New York, it's 6pm in Florence.

Tipping-- In hotels, a service charge is usually included in your bill. In family-run operations, additional tips are unnecessary and sometimes considered rude. In fancier places with a hired staff, however, you may want to leave a .50€ daily tip for the maid, pay the bellhop or porter 1€ per bag, and a helpful concierge 2€ for his or her troubles. In restaurants, 10% to 15% is almost always included in the bill -- to be sure, ask "è incluso il servizio?" -- but you can leave up to an additional 10%, especially for good service. At bars and cafes, leave a 10€ coin per drink on the counter for the barman; if you sit at a table, leave 10% to 15%. Taxi drivers expect 10% to 15%.

Water-- Although most Italians take mineral water with their meals, tap water is safe everywhere, as are any public drinking fountains you run across. 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.