Travel Risk Atlas

Italy

Southern Europe · Capital Rome

Level 2 United States Exercise Increased Caution FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 2 Canada Exercise a high degree of caution AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Italy — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

17.4 Very low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 50th safest of 220
Colosseum arena photography
Photo: David Köhler / Unsplash

Italy is a safe country with a well-developed tourist-scam economy in three cities: Rome, Naples and Venice. Violence against visitors is rare; being overcharged or relieved of a phone is not.

Driving is the genuine risk. Italy's road death rate is roughly double the Netherlands', and historic city centres are ringed by camera-enforced ZTL zones that issue fines by post months later.

Where the risk actually is

Checked by hand against all five government advisories in July 2026: no part of Italy currently carries a warning against travel. The colour shows the general caution level only.

Agrigento — No specific warningAgrigento — No specific warningAgrigento — No specific warningAgrigento — No specific warningAlessandria — No specific warningAncona — No specific warningAoste — No specific warningArezzo — No specific warningArezzo — No specific warningAscoli Piceno — No specific warningAsti — No specific warningAvellino — No specific warningAvellino — No specific warningBari — No specific warningBarletta-Andria Trani — No specific warningBelluno — No specific warningBenevento — No specific warningBenevento — No specific warningBergamo — No specific warningBiella — No specific warningBologna — No specific warningBozen — No specific warningBrescia — No specific warningBrindisi — No specific warningCagliari — No specific warningCaltanissetta — No specific warningCaltanissetta — No specific warningCampobasso — No specific warningCarbonia-Iglesias — No specific warningCarbonia-Iglesias — No specific warningCarbonia-Iglesias — No specific warningCaserta — No specific warningCatania — No specific warningCatanzaro — No specific warningChieti — No specific warningComo — No specific warningCosenza — No specific warningCremona — No specific warningCrotene — No specific warningCuneo — No specific warningEnna — No specific warningFermo — No specific warningFerrara — No specific warningFirenze — No specific warningFoggia — No specific warningForlì-Cesena — No specific warningFrosinone — No specific warningGenova — No specific warningGorizia — No specific warningGrosseto — No specific warningGrosseto — No specific warningImperia — No specific warningIsernia — No specific warningL'Aquila — No specific warningLa Spezia — No specific warningLatina — No specific warningLatina — No specific warningLecce — No specific warningLecco — No specific warningLivorno — No specific warningLivorno — No specific warningLivorno — No specific warningLivorno — No specific warningLivorno — No specific warningLodi — No specific warningLucca — No specific warningMacerata — No specific warningMantova — No specific warningMassa-Carrara — No specific warningMatera — No specific warningMatera — No specific warningMedio Campidano — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMessina — No specific warningMilano — No specific warningModena — No specific warningMonza e Brianza — No specific warningNapoli — No specific warningNapoli — No specific warningNovara — No specific warningNuoro — No specific warningOgliastra — No specific warningOlbia-Tempio — No specific warningOlbia-Tempio — No specific warningOlbia-Tempio — No specific warningOristrano — No specific warningPadova — No specific warningPalermo — No specific warningPalermo — No specific warningPalermo — No specific warningPalermo — No specific warningParma — No specific warningPavia — No specific warningPerugia — No specific warningPerugia — No specific warningPesaro e Urbino — No specific warningPesaro e Urbino — No specific warningPescara — No specific warningPiacenza — No specific warningPisa — No specific warningPistoia — No specific warningPordenone — No specific warningPotenza — No specific warningPotenza — No specific warningPrato — No specific warningRagusa — No specific warningRavenna — No specific warningReggio Calabria — No specific warningReggio Emilia — No specific warningRieti — No specific warningRimini — No specific warningRimini — No specific warningRoma — No specific warningRovigo — No specific warningSalerno — No specific warningSassari — No specific warningSassari — No specific warningSavona — No specific warningSiena — No specific warningSiracusa — No specific warningSondrio — No specific warningTaranto — No specific warningTeramo — No specific warningTerni — No specific warningTrapani — No specific warningTrapani — No specific warningTrapani — No specific warningTrapani — No specific warningTrento — No specific warningTreviso — No specific warningTrieste — No specific warningTurin — No specific warningUdine — No specific warningVarese — No specific warningVenezia — No specific warningVenezia — No specific warningVenezia — No specific warningVenezia — No specific warningVerbano-Cusio-Ossola — No specific warningVercelli — No specific warningVerona — No specific warningVibo Valentia — No specific warningVicenza — No specific warningViterbo — No specific warningLake GenevaLake BalatonLago di ComoLago di GardaLago di Bracciano
What governments advise No specific warning

What this means in practice

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No part of Italy carries an advise-against-travel warning. Wildfire risk is high across the summer.

Advisories change without warning. Check the official one for your own nationality — linked at the top of this page — before you book.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly earthquakes, flooding, tsunami
50/100
171st of 220
Political stability
10% of score
31/100
85th of 220
Crime
15% of score
25/100
55th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
13/100
87th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
11/100
37th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
6/100
18th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
2/100
33rd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
75/100

Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
112
Single European emergency number — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone
Currency
EUR €
Euro — no conversion from the eurozone
Languages
Italian
Visa (EU passport)
Visa free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
58.9m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Rome
Driving
On the right
5.3 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F, L
220-240V
Safely managed water
97%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+39
GDP per capita
$43k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
95.4m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Rome, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around April to October.

Daytime high mild warm hot extreme heat
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Italy

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Bracelet and rose sellers

Rome, Florence, VeniceVery common

A bracelet is tied to your wrist or a rose pushed into your partner's hand as a 'gift', followed by an insistent demand for payment once you have accepted it.

How to avoid it: Do not take anything placed in your hand. Keep walking and say nothing — engaging is what starts the transaction.

Sources Rome tourist board guidance

Skip-the-line ticket resellers

Colosseum, Vatican, UffiziVery common

People in lanyards outside major sites sell 'skip the line' tours at a large markup, sometimes for a queue that does not exist, sometimes with tickets that are not valid for entry.

How to avoid it: Buy from the official site's own website in advance. Official staff work inside ticket offices, not in the square.

Sources Colosseum official ticketing Vatican Museums official tickets

Taxi meter and airport flat-fare disputes

Rome Fiumicino, NaplesCommon

The driver claims the meter is broken, or that the legal flat fare from Fiumicino to central Rome does not apply to your destination, and quotes double.

How to avoid it: The Fiumicino–Rome city walls flat fare is fixed by ordinance and posted on the door of every licensed taxi. Insist on it, or use the Leonardo Express train.

Sources Rome official taxi fares

Venice restaurant cover charges

VeniceCommon

A per-person coperto plus a service charge plus a musician surcharge, none prominently listed, can double a modest bill near San Marco.

How to avoid it: Italian law requires the coperto to be stated on the menu. Read the small print before sitting, and walk five minutes away from the piazza.

Sources Venice city tourism information

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Italy is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Roma Termini station and bus 64 Pickpocketing

The 64 runs Termini to the Vatican and is worked constantly. Treat it as a pickpocket bus with a nice view.

Naples: Quartieri Spagnoli and around the station Street crime

Scooter-borne bag snatching is the main risk. Walk with bags on the wall side, and avoid quiet streets after dark.

Milan Centrale and Duomo Pickpocketing

Organised teams around ticket machines and the cathedral steps.

ZTL zones and hire cars

Almost every Italian historic centre is a limited traffic zone (ZTL) enforced by camera. Entering without a permit is an automatic fine, and hire companies pass it on with an administration charge, often a year later. Park outside the walls and walk in.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Italy:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.