Health & Safety
No special inoculations are required for travel in Italy.If you need medicine while in Italy, you should know that each town designates a 24-hour pharmacy on a rotating basis. You can discover where it is by asking your hotel clerk or checking the schedule posted in the windows of any farmacie. First aid, or pronto soccorso (also the expression for emergency rooms at hospitals, or ospedali) is available at major train stations, ports, and airports, as well as at hospitals in towns. If you need a doctor, you might want to be prepared with information on English-speaking doctors in Italy by contacting the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT, 417 Center St., Lewiston, NY 14092) before your departure.
Although Italians always drink bottled mineral water with their meals, town tap water is perfectly safe to drink. On the highways, in rural areas, or at city fountains, however, it is best not to drink the water—often there are even signs that it isn't potable.
Fortunately, crime in Italy is not routinely violent; travelers should rather concern themselves primarily with theft, especially pickpockets and purse snatchers, particularly in urban areas. Be on the lookout for pickpockets (including the notorious gypsies who work in pairs or groups to distract you with a newspaper or baby) around train stations, in crowded buses, and in busy markets. Wear a money belt, a necklace pouch, or a money clip tucked inside your waistband; put valuables in an unexpected or difficult-to-reach spot—such as an inside jacket pocket—not the rear pants pocket. Don't carry all your valuables with you. If you can, leave some of your money and even your passport (if you're not changing money) in the hotel's safe (cassa di sicurezza)—half of all thefts occur from hotel rooms.
If you find that the streets around your hotel empty out at nightfall, check with reception about the safety of walking at night. Don't leave valuables in a car, or if you do, put them in the trunk and park the car in a guarded lot (guardici). In large southern port cities, pay for a garage. Don't check baggage on trains. Don't wear expensive jewelry, particularly south of Rome.