Car Hire and Road Information

As part of our service we are pleased to participate in a car hire scheme [holiday Autos] [Argus Car Hire] just click on the link to receive a quotation, but before you do there one or two things to consider before you choose your vehicle:

• Many streets in the old villages are fairly narrow and parking places often tight, so small is better than large (cheaper too).
• Roads can climb and twist up and down the hillsides, so consider an automatic.
• Air conditioning in July and August is well worth the extra cost.

Road Network

The road network is made up of provincial and state roads, and motorways. Provincial and state roads have blue signs with white lettering, the motoways have green signw with white lettering.

The backbone of the motorway system is the Autostrada del Sole off which branches the Padano-Veneta motorway, the coastal and transverse motorways, and those to the Alpine passes.

The main motorways are;

• A1 Milano - Napoli
• A3 Napoli - Reggio di Calabria
• A4 Torino - Trieste
• A14 Rimini - Ancona - Taranto
• A21 Torino - Piacenza - Brescia
• A22 Brennero - Modena

Seat belts

The use of seat belts is compulsory in Italy on both front and rear seats and safety seats for children aged between 3 and 12. Crash helmets are compulsory on two-wheeled vehicles.

Road signs

Italy uses the now-standard European road signs, the main categories of which are:

Blue signs are compulsory and must be obeyed.

Triangular road signs with a red edge pointing up: danger.

Triangular road signs with a red edge pointing down indicates you must give way.

Round signs with a red edge indicate a prohibition.

Speed limits

Speed limits are given in kilometres per hour. The speed limit in urban centres is 50 km/h and 90 km/h on the extra-urban road network and on the ring roads of some major cities.

On dual carriageways the limit is 110 km/h whilst on motorways a limit of 130 km/h applies.

For caravans and trailers:

80 km/h is the limit on the extra-urban road network and 100 km/h on all motorways.

Motorway tolls

A charge is made for the use of motorways. Payments can be made using cash or credit cards. Probably the most convenient solution is to use your credit card (all major cards) or to buy a Viacard, these are available at toll gates, Punto Blu stations on the motorway, Autogrills and tobacconists.

Journey Planning

There is an excellent English language website run by the Italian authorities which allows you to plan your journeys on Italian autostrade. The site will allow you to specify the start and end points of your journey and will produce a map for you. It will show parking areas and service stations and calculate your journey distance. You will also be given details of any stretches subject to tolls, and toll charges for your journey are shown for different types of vehicle. You are even told what payment methods are available at each toll barrier on your journey. The site address is www2.autostrade.it