Perche

You're right. Never is too strong a word. Anything can happen, but confrontational crime, as opposed to stealth crime is pretty unusual in Italy. It is most likely to happen around train stations, which are generally in bad neighborhoods.

You want to go where?

Even then, basic awareness of your surroundings and common sense should be enough to keep you safe in these areas, whether from pickpockets or the much rarer confrontational crime.

ysolde

I did not find Rome at all daunting. I speak a little Italian, as I speak Spanish and French, so my Italian improved as I spent time there. Rome is huge and spread out, but people are friendly and helpful. It reminded me of NY: stay out of the way when people are going to work. The other thing we found helpful was to have a plan: early Christian churches with Byzantine style mosaics. Sound limited? I believe we saw twelve churches on that trip, and skipped a few. Find out if any useums you want to visit require reservations, and make them (Borghese springs to mind).

Last year, we went to Milan, and loved it. I'm a Medievalist, so I was in heaven among the forts and churches. The museum is definitely worth visiting, though it struck me that you have to walk around to find the gems. If you are an art lover, Milan is home to The Last Supper. Get your ticket way in advance, but get your ticket. It's much easier to navigate Milan than Rome, as the subway is a dream (even in a wheelchair). Oh, and the shopping.

FlyingHoustonian

People get mugged or experience attempted muggings in Italy fairly often. I had a wedding guest going home through Rome who had a kid come up and pull and knife and ask for a wallet; luckily he was brave/smart enough to say no, the kid cussed and left. I have sent 13 of my employees to Rome for projects in the last six months and one was mugged in December and one was an attempted mugging victim in September, all via knife point. It happens.

That being said I concur with Perche's bigger point 110% which is that "crime" should not deter travel to Rome or anywhere else.

Be alert and smart, as others have noted and you will be fine.


True, though in Napoli, Palermo, and especially Catania thieves still can, do, and will pull up and break the window of your car/try to open a door while at a stop light and try to steal bags and purses in plain sight. Happens fairly often. And while State is often vague and useless in their "travel warnings" they have even issued a couple for such specific issues as the reports of those affected have been bad, and NAS Sig even had to put out alerts on it.

The point about the train stations here is a good one. Beware of helpful strangers, and people milling about in odd places, but it is still a nice way to travel.

But again, it is an odds game. So this stuff should not deter, nor detour from visiting places. When I lived in Brasil as a kid, they had kissing bandits, and roving kids with guns robbing people...what can you do? I still enjoy going back to Brasil. ^

I agree with Perche in that you cannot let such things limit travels or planning. Jump into Rome and enjoy it you will have a great time!

Forrest Bump

Bolding mine.
I can not emphasize enough how this is BS e misinformation.
Just have a look at statistics where crimes per capita/population density are listed and you'll be wondering.
Let's say comparing Naples/Palermo/Catania to Paris/London/Bruxelles.
Your "fairly often" is not applicable anymore even to Rio's stop lights.

Enlarging the issue to homicides for the whole country Eurostat can help: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statist...ants)_YB14.png.

Perche

Why do people keep talking about crime in Italy?
Total crime rate in "Group of Seven" countries.

USA 11.88 million
UK 6.52 million
Germany 6.51 million
France 3.77 million
Japan 2.85 million
Canada 2.52 million
Italy 2.51 million

Per capita for developed countries Italy ranks 25th, with less crime than the USA, Iceland, Sweden, the UK, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Norway, Austria, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, etc.

Crimes per thousand people for European Union Countries,
Sweden 138
UK 110
Finland 100
Belgium 94
Denmark 91
Netherlands 88
Germany 79
Austria 68
France 61
Luxembourg 58
Estonia 42
Hungary 41
Slovenia 41
Italy 39

For all of Europe, crimes per thousand people are,
Iceland 209
Sweden 138
UK 110
Finland 100
Belgium 94
Denmark 91
Netherlands 88
Germany 78
Norway 72
Austria 68
France 61
Luxembourg 58
Malta 43
Estonia 42
Switzerland 42
Hungary 41
Slovenia 41
Italy 39
Poland 37
Czech Republic 36

If you want to reduce your chances of being a crime victim, take a vacation to Italy.

sophiesophie

Sorry to divert here...
ghiaaa -
I don't know if you are male or female or are traveling alone to Abu Dhabi/Dubai? I was there 2 years ago. My boyfriend at the time had just gotten a job over there and I visited for a week. He was staying at the Radisson Blu on Yaz Island (most expats stay at the hotels on there when working.) It was ok - but I am a woman and would not travel there alone. We did go to Dubai one day - huge city, traffic, construction - like Chicago or worse. Was happy to go back to Abu Dhabi. We didn't venture far from Yaz Island though. We did go one day to a zoo near the Oman border. On the way back, we took an exit where we thought we might see camels (you see some from the highway). We ended up at a camel racetrack. That was interesting! I would not care to revisit though. Nothing special.

sophiesophie

I traveled twice to Italy (Bologna-Florence and Siena-Rapallo-Barcelona). I was alone and felt very safe in all areas (Barcelona was fine - but tried not to look like a tourist - I didn't get robbed. Didn't see anything like that, but was alert to who was around me.)

I loved Bologna and Florence and Siena. I took a cab ride outside of Bologna to go horseback riding. Cab driver didn't know where to go, so I was rather late. Saw a lot of the Italian countryside - worth the extra $! It was just me riding. Zia Katina took me on the ride. The weather was ok, it had rained that morning, so it was a little muddy in places and cloudy all day. The owner of the place (Zio Michelino) - nice older man - was going to drop me at a bus stop to get back to Bologna. He didn't speak english very well, but he asked if I wanted an espresso (SI! SI!) We stopped to get one - he paid. He then drove me all the way back to my hotel. We stopped a few times along the way so I could take pictures. He pointed out the town where Alberto Tomba was from - and yes, I know who he is! It was a very memorable excursion to Italia!

I want to go back and visit so many other areas - probably more south next time. While I expect to spend some time in larger cities - I prefer the smaller towns and travel around. Very friendly people!

PWMTrav

Crime in Rome and Italy as a whole is pretty low. The stats above are telling, but they're even lower once you take out the things that won't happen to you - car and home breakins - simply because most travel to Italy without a car or a home there.

I suppose that even though the overall crime numbers are lower (ignoring rate, since rate usually is per capita and doesn't account for transients like tourists) you could be concerned that tourists are targeted disproportionately. That's probably true in the historic center of Italian cities on an absolute level, but relative to cities you might visit in your home country, the skewness is probably about the same.

Personal crime in Italy is probably 100th down the list of things I worry about when visiting, somewhere near forgetting my passport at home and remembering where my car's parked at the airport.

If you're concerned, don't alter your plans, just limit opportunity by not carrying large amounts of cash on you, leaving your passport in the safe at the hotel (and carry a photocopy for ID, which is required of you in Italy) and keeping your head up when you walk. Keep your wallet in your front pocket if you're worried about pickpocketing. You're far less likely to be pickpocketed or robbed in Italy than you are to be approached by people asking you for money, the bracelet trick, trying to sell you things, etc. IMHO, learn to say no forcefully and when approached, don't stop walking - it'll cut down on the time you spend being annoyed.

You're far more likely to be robbed or picked in a major American city. It's not any nicer just because the perps speak English. If you're pretty good visiting NYC, Philly, Boston, LA or Chicago without getting your crap stolen, you'll wonder what the big fuss is all about in Italy.

pavlovb

Is there a website that provides more info for this tour? Sounds like something my wife and I would enjoy.

Also, very interesting to hear the various opinions of Rome.

We are considering an apartment in an area south of Pantheon off of Via in Publicos. Any opinions on this area?

PWMTrav

The tour is called Florence for Foodies - check your PM for some more info.

Perche

In general, south of the Pantheon is a nice area, but it's difficult to say because Via in Publicos does not sound like a valid address to me. I don't think Publicos is an italian word, and I don't know why "in" would be there. A Via can't be "in." Not at least in Italian grammar as I know it. You can be in a house, in a bank, in a gym, in a post office but you can't be in a publico, and I don't think publico is an italian word. Sounds Spanish to me. More info could help.

pavlovb

My mistake, Via in Publicolis 43. Just south of Via dei Falegnami

PWMTrav

I like that area. If you're stuck for a meal the day you arrive, I've eaten at Osteria Romana di Simmi nearby (google map it). It's slightly touristy based on the location, but we enjoyed it. I think the owner was serving us, it was late lunch time, and we'd told him we were fairly hungry for lunch time (given that we'd just gotten off an overnight flight) and to maybe do 2-3 courses plus dessert. I remember a really nice roasted artichoke, a soup that I enjoyed, I think there was a meat course, but before that a very large plate of oysters that I "had to try" - wine kept coming too, I just asked for house wine. I expected that they were pushing food to run up the tab since I never looked at a menu, and by the end I was ok with that because we enjoyed the food. Turned out the check was pretty damn reasonable and the guy was just being hospitable. For good measure, we got a tour of the cantina downstairs - the building itself is very cool.

I haven't been to this place in 5 years, but I do want to check it out again. Only thing I'll throw in is that maybe I was treated a little better because I speak Italian, but who knows.

Perche

That makes more sense. I don't know why they are advertising as south of the Pantheon, perhaps to make it sound more attractive. Technically it is south of the pantheon, but it is not in the same neighborhood at all. If I was going to describe it I'd say southwest of the Colosseum.

It's not a bad area at all, so if you are getting a good deal and have vetted the apartment itself well, the neighborhood wouldn't dissuade me, provided you're OK walking 15-20 minutes to get to places. Apartments are almost always better than hotels, it's just that most of them are on the outskirts of Rome and you have to take a train or a bus to get where you want to go. This is walkable to everywhere if you're a decent walker. If the apartment is OK and you're getting a good deal, the area is not prime, but Very OK.