have long been a proponent of putting the real money, passport etc in a hidden waist wallet, so in Italy last month, I had one of my kids wallets with monopoly money in my back pocket... no takers. But in Rome, watched as a gypsy picked the back pocket of a girl not five feet from me! there's pickpockets everywhere but it does seem generally the further south you go in Italy, the more aggressive they are. just use common sense and have fun-its just part of travel