ADDRESSES These are usually written as the street name followed by
the number - eg Via Roma 69. Interno refers to the flat number - eg
interno 5 (often abbreviated as int.). Confusingly, some towns (notably
Florence and Genoa) have two parallel systems for numbering properties,
one for shops and restaurants and another for businesses and private
residences; sometimes a shop or restaurant is suffixed by the letter
"r", meaning that Via Garibaldi 15r might be in an entirely different
place from Via Garibaldi 15. Watch out for addresses with "s/n" rather
than a street number, which refers to the fact that they have no number,
or are senza numero .
AIRPORT TAX Nearly always included in the price of your ticket.
BARGAINING Not really on in shops and restaurants, though you'll find
you can get a "special price" for some rooms and cheap hotels if you're
staying a few days or off season, and that things like boat or bike
rental and guided tours (especially out of season) are negotiable. In
markets, you can in theory haggle for everything except food.
BEACHES Most beaches are clearly signposted spiaggia but you'll have
to pay for access to the best parts of the better ones (referred to as
lidos), plus a few thousand lire to rent a sun bed and shade and use the
showers all day. Although technically the few metres immediately by the
water cannot be sectioned off, it's debatable whether it's worth the
hassle of trying to enforce your rights. During winter most beaches look
like rubbish dumps: it's not worth anyone's while to clean them until
the season starts at Easter. Some beaches, particularly along the north
coast of Sicily are prone to invasions of jellyfish ( meduse ) from time
to time. These are not dangerous, but can cause quite a sting, so take
local advice and believe, if you will, the Italian train of thought that
they are a sign of unpolluted water.
CAMPING GAZ Easy enough to buy for the small, portable, camping
stoves, either from a hardware store ( ferramenta ) or camping/sports
shops; remember you can't carry canisters on aeroplanes.
CHILDREN Children are adored in Italy and will be made a fuss of in
the street, and welcomed and catered for in bars and restaurants (though
be warned that there's no such thing as a smoke-free environment, with
chain-smoking the norm). Hotels normally charge around thirty percent
extra to put a bed or cot in your room, though kids pay less on trains .
The only hazards when travelling with children in summer are the heat
and sun. Very high factor suncreams are quite difficult to find although
chemists usually sell sunblock. Bonnets or straw hats are plentiful in
local markets. Take advantage of the less intense periods - mornings and
evenings - for travelling, and use the quiet of siesta-time to recover
flagging energy. The rhythms of the southern climate soon modify
established patterns, and you'll find it more natural carrying on later
into the night, past normal bedtimes. In summer, it's not unusual to see
Italian children out at midnight, and not looking any the worse for it.
CIGARETTES The state monopoly brand - MS, jokingly referred to as
Morte Sicura ("certain death") or Merda Secca ("dried shit") - are the
most widely smoked cigarettes, strong and aromatic and selling for
around £4200/¬2.17 for a pack of twenty. Younger people tend to smoke
imported brands these days - all of which are slightly more expensive,
at around £4500-5500/¬2.32-2.84 per pack. You buy cigarettes from
tabacchi , recognizable by a sign displaying a white "T" on a black or
blue background, but not from bars. After hours you'll have to use
automatic, hole-in-the-wall vending machines; these are hardly more
expensive than tabacchi , accept notes and are found on practically
every street corner in major cities.
CONTRACEPTION Condoms ( preservativi, profilàttici ) are available
over the counter from all pharmacies (some also have vending machines
after hours) and some supermarkets; the pill ( la píllola ) is available
from pharmacies by prescription only.
DEPARTMENT STORES There are two main nationwide chains, Upim and Standa.
Neither is particularly posh, and they're good places to stock up on
toiletries and other basic supplies; branches of both stores sometimes
have a food hall attached.
ELECTRICITY The supply is 220V, though anything requiring 240V will
work. Most plugs are three round pins though you'll find the older 2-pin
plug in some places: a travel plug adapter is useful.
GAY AND LESBIAN LIFE Homosexuality is legal in Italy, and the age of
consent is 14. The Gay "World Pride" march took place in Rome in July
2000, and although condemned, predictably enough, by the pope, the size
of the turn-out (over a quarter of a million) and the largely
sympathetic press coverage have been read as signs that homosexuality is
becoming more widely accepted in Italy. Attitudes are most tolerant in
the northern cities: Bologna is generally regarded as the gay capital,
and Milan, Turin and to a lesser extent Rome all have well-developed gay
scenes; there are also a few spiagge gay (gay beaches) dotted along the
coast, and the more popular gay resorts include Taormina and Rimini.
Away from the big cities and resorts, though, activity is more covert.
You'll notice, in the South especially, that overt displays of affection
between (all) men - linking arms during the passeggiata, kissing in
greeting, etc - are common. The line determining what's acceptable,
however, is finely drawn. The national gay organization, ARCI-Gay,
Piazza di Porta Saragozza 2, PO Box 691, 40100 Bologna (tel
051.644.7054, arcigl@iperbole.it ), and at Via dei Mille 23, Rome (tel
06.446.5839), affiliated to the youth section of the ex-Communist Party,
has branches in most big towns; Babilonia ( www.babilonia.net ) is the
national gay magazine, published monthly.The Italian lesbian
organization, Collegamento tra Lesbiche Italiane, is based at Via San
Francesco di Sales 1a, Rome (tel 06.686.4201), but is mainly a
campaigning force; ARCI-Lesbica, Via dei Monti di Petralata 16, (tel
06.418.0369, www.women.it/~arciles/roma ) is a more general organization
and the Web site has lots of useful links.
LAUNDRIES Coin-operated laundromats, sometimes known as tintorie ,
are rare outside large cities, and even there numbers are sparse. More
common is a lavanderia , a service-wash laundry, but this will be more
expensive. Although you can usually get away with it, washing clothes in
your hotel room can cause an international incident - simply because the
room's plumbing often can't cope with all the water. It's better to ask
if there's somewhere you can wash your clothes.
PUBLIC TOILETS Almost unheard of outside train and bus stations, and
usually the only alternative is to dive discreetly into a bar or
restaurant. In stations and some smarter establishments, there might be
an attendant who guards the facilities, dispenses paper ( carta ) - and
expects a tip of a few hundred lire. Standards have improved over the
last few years and you'll find most places to be very clean, though it's
advisable not to be without your own toilet roll.
TAKE HOME Top of the list of many Italian goodies worth taking home
is a caffeteria - the many-sided coffee-makers that are surprisingly
cheap in Italy; Upim and Standa usually have a good selection, as do
markets. Obviously clothes and shoes make tempting souvenirs, too, but
don't expect any bargains; in Milan, especially, prices are sky-high,
though if you're in the market for designer threads, this is as cheap a
place as any.
TIME Italy is always one hour ahead of Britain, seven hours ahead of
US Eastern Standard Time and ten hours ahead of Pacific Time.
VACCINATIONS None required.
WAR CEMETERIES Anzio and Cassino are just the best known of a number
of fiercely contested battles on Italian soil during World War II.
Information and a list of Allied cemeteries are available from the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2 Marlow Rd, Maidenhead, Berkshire
SL6 7DX (tel 01628/634 221).
WATER Safe everywhere, including drinking fountains, although people
often prefer the taste of bottled water.
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