Italy

Merely a friendly suggestion in Italy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewenyi/)

Mad drivers

Health and Safety in Italy

Don't worry. They usually aren't into making tourists sleep with the fishes (http://www.flickr.com/photos/toymaster/)

Italians drive like idiots, mainly because they need both their hands free of the steering wheel in order to express themselves properly to the person in the passenger seat. The drive right up to the tail gate of the car in front, overtake on whichever side of the road appeals to them and only slow down for pedestrians they find attractive.

Most of Italy is safe enough but in cities like Turin, Milan and Napoli (Naples) in particular you need to keep your eyes open, especially anywhere around the train station.

There have been stories of bandits boarding sleeper carriages of trains at night and gassing the occupants with chemicals that induce deep sleep. Then they robbed the passengers who awoke several hours later with a bad headache and minus their wallets. This is pretty rare and happened only in the south of Italy.

Take care of your belongings in the big cities (http://www.flickr.com/photos/matiasjajaja/)

The Mafia themselves are no threat to the average traveler in Italy. They’re interested in making money from the bigger rackets and have no interest in undermining tourism. If you planned on opening a business in the south of Italy then you might need permission from the local don but otherwise you won’t even see them.

The water is good to drink in all of Italy and you’ll be unlucky to get ill from the food, unless your liver can’t handle any more heavy cheeses with cream sauce.

There exist wolves in Italy but you’d be happy to see any of the few that scrape out a living in the hills. The only real danger can be vipers that live in the forests and which can be lethal if you don’t get the anti-venom the same day. Don’t confuse the viper with the common grass snake that takes in the sun on the asphalt during the day though.

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