Italy from the Inside

The colors of the Italian street signs

When you come to a crossroads in Italy you may become disoriented by the multitude of signs. It may be hard to see the sign you are looking for while you are driving, especially if you see ten or more other signs. Italians have tried to make it easier by using different colors for their signage system:

A blue background is used for city/town directions. The number next to the city name tells you the road number or how many kilometers you have to drive to get to the destination.

Italian street signs- Italy from the Inside

Sign to the City of Udine, 11 Kilometers

Italian street signs- Italy from the Inside

Strada Provinciale (SP) sign to the towns of Reana (road number 38) and Faedis (road number 15)

A green background is used for highway directions (tutte le direzioni means “all directions,” that is to say that you need to take that direction to reach the main towns and cities in the area).

The Italian street signs- Italy from the Insid

All directions sign (tutte le direzioni)

White signs are for hotel directions but also for public service places (such as police, hospitals, train stations, etc.). In this case a little icon accompanies the words to make the meaning clearer.

Italian street signs- Italy from the Inside

White hotel signs

Italian street signs- Italy from the Inside

White signs to police station

Signs with a brown (or yellow) background point the way to areas of tourist interest. Also in this case an icon will help you understand whether the place in question is a church, a museum, a theater, etc.

Italian street signs- Italy from the Inside

Brown tourist signs

Detour signs have a yellow background and black writing.

Italian detour sign- Italy from the Inside

Yellow detour sign

{This is an excerpt from chapter 2 “Driving in Italy” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}

Something to remember when you go to an Italian bar

Pay first Italian bar- Italy from the Inside

A “pay first ” sign in a bar in Rome

In many Italian bars, you need to pay before consuming your coffee, drink, or whatever you order. This is to avoid people leaving the bar without paying. What you need to do is to pay at the cash register, take the receipt and give it to the bartender. The bartender will tear or stamp the receipt and then he/she will give you what you ordered. Before leaving, remember to take the receipt with you. You must do it by law. This law has the goal to protect the State from being cheating out of the tax.

Same message, but in Italian:

At an Italian bar- Italy from the Inside

“Please, get the receipt at the cash register first. Thank you”

{This is an excerpt from chapter 4 “Gelaterie and Coffee Houses” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}

How are distance and speed measured in Italy?

Yellow Vespa- Italy from the Inside

Yellow “vintage” Vespa

In Italy, distances are measured in kilometers, while speed (velocità) is measured in kilometers/hour instead of miles/hour. A quick way to convert from kilometers to miles is to divide by 5 and multiply times 3. This is not going to give you an exact number, but a number that is close enough to give you an approximate idea.

{This is an excerpt from chapter 12 “Units and conversions” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}