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The answer really is ‘yes and no’, or as the Italians would say ‘Ni’ (no+ si = ni!).
Although Italy is famed for its organized crime, crimes against tourists have generally been opportunistic and non-violent. By and large, this is still the case and it’s quite simple to keep yourself (and your wallet) safe on holiday.
Italy has a large Roma gypsy population which live in camps, mostly outside large cities. Over 86% of Italians have an unfavorable impression of the zingari, due to the belief that they are responsible for much of the crimes in city centers, yet successive governments attempts to find a ‘solution’, have been unsuccessful. They are certainly well-organized, with large groups coming into city centers each day. Men and older women visit the residential neighborhoods where they fish through the trash bins for metal which can be sold, the children and young mothers, generally target the metros, train stations and other crowds where they will create a distraction while one of them robs onlookers.
On buses and in other crowds, pickpockets are less easy to spot. Visitors wrongly assume they are safe in a museum and stop paying attention. Consider that Vatican City has a crime rate 20 times higher than Italy’s due to the number of thefts in the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica!
AVOIDING PICKPOCKETS
The easy solution to this, is to make sure you travel with a small bag that you can wear across you that closes well, for example with along zipper, button or popper which cannot be easily opened without you feeling it. On transport, you can easily hold this in front of you or put it under your coat. Never wear a backpack on your back on public transport or in a crowd, it might not be easy to open, but that won’t stop somebody cutting into it.
KEEP YOUR PASSPORT SAFE
Here there’s another easy solution: don’t carry your passport around with you! Take a copy and keep the original safe in your hotel.
CASH OR CARD?
Don’t carry large amounts of cash around with you. Slowly Italy is getting used to the idea of making small payments with a credit or debit card, yet cash remains popular, so you’ll want to have some on you. In restaurants, and for larger purchases, use your card.
DRIVING
Think carefully about where you are going to drive in Italy. Behind the wheel, a lot of otherwise quite sane Italians, develop a god-complex and commonly ignore the speed limit and (especially in the south) traffic lights as well. Italians as young as 14 can drive scooters and subcompact cars, so be aware that there are a lot of very new drivers on the roads and consider hiring an experienced local driver or taking public transport instead.
WALKING ALONE AT NIGHT
Recently there has been a rise in attacks in Rome on young foreign women walking alone at night, particularly in the area around the railway station. Avoid walking alone late, or taking roads which are poorly lit. Many bars stay open until 2am, so there should be people around, but if there aren’t and you don’t speak the language, use the MyTaxi app to get a lift back to your hotel.
AT THE AIRPORT
Reports that airport baggage handlers have been caught stealing from suitcases are not infrequent, so padlocks or secure wrapping your bags are definitely a good idea.
WATCH OUT FOR THE WILDLIFE
You’ve probably already started sniggering, but this is serious! When you are visiting Rome, take particular care when walking near the river because of the large number of starlings that nest in the trees there. Every evening you can see them swirling in impressive patterns over the city, but as they come to nest, things can turn dangerous thanks to the oiliness of their droppings after a day munching olives in the countryside! Drivers who helplessly try to clean their windows, only succeed in further obscuring their vision and no banana skin in the world is as effective, once it starts raining, in bringing unsuspecting pedestrians painfully to their knees!
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