New Trip Information:  April 2008                 by Katherine M. Pulzone “Kate”

As a frequent traveler to Italy and Europe, I try to keep up with new laws and requirements, especially cost-saving transportation.  The most recent and important information is the following:

Italy will be one of the countries who will soon require visitors to get fingerprinted when they arrive in one of their airports.  Naturally we will moan and groan as the time spent in the airports gets longer and longer and jet lag will be the least of our gripes.  The United States will be one of the cooperating countries involved with the fingerprinting.  Sound too much like the “1984” novel that scared everyone some decades ago?  We can only hope that our personal information and now our fingerprints stay secure. 

Here’s another tidbit that you should be aware of.  Many times in my travels, I would notice fellow passengers actually skipping getting their passport stamped because “someone” would say they didn’t have to.  Not a good idea then, and now it’s a must.  Even if you’re with a tour group and you happen to cross the border into Switzerland, tour busses gave us the option of getting out to stamp our passports.  I always had my passport stamped.  This holds true if you travel out of Italy by train (or back in) – make sure you ask the information officer in the train station in Italy what the procedures are for getting back in by train and the same in the country you visited (i.e. Italy – France – Italy).   It’s always good to be cautious and informed.

On a happier note, train travel costs have improved in Italy as far as seniors getting a nice discount along with their companion.  Even here in the U.S., Amtrak is offering attractive travel discounts.  As always, student fares are discounted.    If you’re of the mind to travel independent of a tour, a good suggestion is to stay in one place that has a train station and take day trips to nearby villages.  For example, if you stay in Tuscany, choose a village that has a rather active train station that will take you to Florence where you can switch to alternate trains.  Cortona is a small village but has a nice train station offering frequent train service.  Also check with your hotel or inn for transportation to and from the station.  Many hotels offer complimentary shuttle service which makes life so much easier.  Sorrento has a marvelous train station, bus and ferry transportation to other villages and towns along the Amalfi Coast including Capri and other islands. 

Cortona, Tuscany

Sorrento marina

WORLD TRAVEL WATCH.COM

After reading several Italy news sites on-line, I copied the following articles that I thought were essential for members traveling to Italy.

Enough Already: A Neapolitan woman expresses her opinion of the trash-filled streets

By Barbie Nadeau | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Be aware while spending time and staying in Naples that there is an on-going garbage strike and it’s a huge problem.  The piles of uncollected garbage that plagued Naples the past several months are gone from the center of the city thanks to the efforts of “trash tsar” Gianni De Gennaro, but the damage has been done to the area’s tourism industry. Business at hotels and restaurants has dried up and the city is largely empty of tourists.

Free visits to the Roman Forum will become history March 10 when an entry fee will be charged for the first time in ten years. Entrance to the Forum will be included in a single ticket that visitors now buy to enter the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill.

The London Sunday Times reported widespread price gouging of tourists in Venice, where cafes, restaurants and bars routinely charge different prices for different nationalities, and considerably less for locals. The head of the Venice branch of Italy’s consumer protection agency called the problem an epidemic, and the overcharging is significant

Alitalia employees plan a four-hour strike Oct. 25 in Lombardy to protest plans to cut flights from Milan’s Malpensa airport as the struggling airline reorganizes. The walkout could cause significant flight delays and cancellations. An eight-hour strike by some 3 ½ million public workers to protest government economic reforms is scheduled for Oct. 26, with a major demonstration to occur in Rome. Travel within the city could be disrupted.

A common tourist activity in Rome is to pose for a picture outside the Colosseum with a “centurion” in full gladiator garb, but beware the expense and risk. All expect a fee for their services and the cost can be exorbitant, but worse, some renegade centurions have become overly aggressive and in a recent incident one physically assaulted four Americans when he was upset with the tip they offered. Others have been known to offer to take photos with the tourists’ cameras and then refuse to return them until given a satisfactory fee. Part of the problem is unlicensed centurions trying to horn in on the official centurions to get a share of the tourist photo business. Licensed centurions can be identified by their more authentic costumes with metal helmets and breastplates, and leather tunics. The fakes usually have plastic breastplates. In other news, authorities are concerned that hard-drinking tourists are ruining the center of Rome with public drunkenness and all the bad behavior that goes with it. Culprits are largely British and Americans. Bars have spread throughout the city’s historic center to cater to the tourists, and officials have vowed to put more police on the street to control the problem.

Under a new law passed in May 2007, all non-EU foreign tourists in Italy are required to file what is called a 'dichiarazione di presenza' (statement  of presence). Tourists arriving from a non-Schengen country (e.g. U.S., Canada, etc.) should make sure that their passports are stamped by the Italian Police at the airport on arrival. This stamp is considered equivalent to the statement of presence. Tourists arriving from a Schengen-country (e.g. France, Spain, etc) must file a statement of presence form at any Italian State Police office (Questura or Commissariato), or through their place of stay (e.g hotel, hostel, campgrounds) within eight business days of arrival. Failure to complete a declaration of presence is punishable by expulsion from Italy.  For further info (in Italian only) from www.portaleimmigrazione.it and http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/citt...

The above procedure is all that needs to be done to stay in Italy up to 90 days. This 90-day period, however, CANNOT be extended, and it is illegal to stay for more than two non-consecutive 90-day periods in one year.

Most non-EU citizens (including Americans) who wish to stay in Italy longer than 90 days -- for ANY reason -- MUST apply for a  visa at an Italian consulate before coming to Italy.  It is just not possible to get a visa from Italy -- you MUST get it in your home country. Italian visa information -- in English -- is available on the Italian Foreign Affairs website at www.esteri.it/visti/index_eng.asp

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Washington D.C. - Ambasciata d'Italia
Address: 3000 Whitehaven Street, NW Washington DC 20008
Tel.: 001202 612-4400
Fax: 518-2154
Website: www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it
E-mail: stampa.washington@esteri.it

Detroit - Consolato
Address: 535 Griswold, Buhl Building Suite 1840 - Detroit, Michigan 48226.
Tel.: 001313 9638560
Fax: 9638180
Website: www.consdetroit.esteri.it
E-mail: detroit.inform@itwash.org

New York - Consolato Generale
Address: 690, Park Avenue - New York, NY 10021
Tel.: 212 7379100 (int.0)
Fax: 2494945
Website: www.consnewyork.esteri.it
E-mail: italconsulnyc@italconsulnyc.org

Boston - Consolato Generale
Address: 600, Atlantic Avenue Boston, MA 02210-2206
Tel.: 001 617 7229201 , 7229202 , 7229203
Fax: 7229407
Website: www.consboston.esteri.it
E-mail: archivio.boston@esteri.it , visti.boston@esteri.it

Chicago - Consolato Generale
Address: 500, North Michigan Avenue - Suite 1850 - Chicago, IL 60611
Tel.: 001312 4671550/1/2/3
Fax: 4671335
Website: www.conschicago.esteri.it
E-mail: italcons.chicago@esteri.it

Houston - Consolato Generale
Address: 1300, Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 660 - Houston, TX 77056
Tel.: 001713 8507520
Fax: 8509113
Website: www.conshouston.esteri.it
E-mail: italcons.houston@esteri.it

Los Angeles - Consolato Generale
Address: 12400, Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300 - Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tel.: 001310 8266207, 8263832, 8200622
Fax: 8200727
Website: www.conslosangeles.esteri.it
E-mail: la.italcons@itwash.org

Miami - Consolato Generale
Address: 4000 Ponce de Leon Blvd, suite 590 - Coral Gables, FL 33146
Tel.: 001305 3746322
Fax: 3747945
Website: www.consmiami.esteri.it
E-mail: italianconsulate.miami@esteri.it

Philadelphia - Consolato Generale
Address: 1026, Public Ledger Bldg. - 150 South Indipendence Mall West Suite 1026 - Philadelphia, PA 19106 - 3470
Tel.: 001215 5927329
Fax: 5929808
Website: www.consfiladelfia.esteri.it
E-mail: Filadelfia.archivio@itawash.orgfiladelfia.archivio@itawash.org

San Francisco - Consolato Generale
Address: 2590, Webster Street - San Francisco, CA 94115
Tel.: 001415 9314924/5/6
Fax: 9317205
Website: www.conssanfrancisco.esteri.it
E-mail: info.iicsanfrancisco@esteri.it