Italy

Italy was the favourite travel destination for many foreign poets and writers. There exist uncountable writings describing the charm of  Italy, where many different cultures live together. Italy is often viewed as a synonym of international haute couture, design, architecture and history. Nature offers striking panoramas: fascinating mountains,  romantic seas, archaeological heritage,  cultural itineraries, historical towns.
Italy is a country with a strong marriage of imagination, art and science. The “BelPaese” is the place of "Ars vivendi", the art of living, where a mild climate, art and culture are integral parts of the daily life. Italy is composed by several different regions, each one with its peculiar charm.

Surface: 301.268 Kmq
Population: 57.200.000
Official language: Italian

The Institutions of the Italian Republic: Italy is a parliamentary republic with a perfect bicameral system
Most people follow Catholic religion, but there exist also wide communities formed by Jewish, Orthodox, Protestants, Valdesi and Muslims.; the Catholic influence is very strong in the cultural life of the country.

Some history

Italy descends from the Etruscan population; the territory was unified under the Roman Empire (III century B.C.). Rome imposed language, laws, calendar, religion. Afterwards the Pope became the head of the Catholic Church. Since 800 A.C. five centuries were characterized by wars between popes and emperors, while the invaders, Normans, Angioini and Aragonesi, conquered Sicily and the South. In the North some independent city-states arose; among them, the powerful Venice dominated the commercial exchanges with the East. Italy became the centre of Europe for its flowering of art and science; Florence was the "heart" of the Renaissance. But the small independent countries did not succeed to defeat the Spanish and the Austrians; the Renaissance and independence wars were responsible of the unification of Italy, under the reign of the Savoia, led by Mazzini and Garibaldi. The kingdom of Italy born on 17 March 1861.

 
Places of worship

Great Mosque:

Address: Viale della Moschea  n. 85 - Rome (quarter Villaggio Olimpico)
Opening time: Wednesday and Saturday from 9.00 am to 11.30 am.
The great Mosque is closed during the Ramadan, during the Muslim festivity, during the national festivity and, in August.
For information call 06-8082258 or send a fax to 06-8079515.

High Temple:

Address: Lungotevere Cenci - Rome
Opening time: from monday to Thursday from 9.00 am to 06.00 pm, Friday and Sunday from 9.00 am to 12.30 am
For information call  06-6840061.

Orthodox Church "Botezul Domnului" (East Rome):

Via 1 Maggio n. 43 - Tor Lupara - Fonte Nuova - Rome
Via Ricotti Garibaldi n. 22 - Monterotondo - Piazza del Popolo (Old Town Center) - Rome
For information call  340-4638251; contact: Priest Bogdan Petre

Valdese Church:

Via IX Novembre n.107 - Rome
For information call 06-6792617; contact: Emanuele Fiume

Catholic - Christian Churches:

Open time: from 7.00 am to 12.00 am and from 02.00 pm to 06.00 pm; some churches open from 7.00 am to 06.00 pm.
The timetable of the church celebrations depend on the day, on the week and on the city.
For information see the website: http://www.vatican.va/phome_it.htm. It provides church celebrations, prayers, Vatican museums, libraries, Vatican City, spirituality and news.

The Vatican City was recognized as an independent state after the signature of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy on February 11, 1929, later ratified on June 7, 1929. Its nature as a sovereign state different from the Holy See is universally recognized under international law.  The Vatican City covers a territory of 0.44 square kilometres, that is 44 hectares (roughly 100 acres). It is partly surrounded by walls and colonnades within St Peter’s Square as well as a strip of travertine corresponding to the end of the colonnade. This marks the boundary of the State and the edge of the Square which is normally open to everyone. Even though it is part of the Vatican City, the Square is usually patrolled by members of the Italian Police Force. Visit the Sistine Chapel, the Rooms and the Loggias painted by Raffaello.

Documents:

When coming to Italy, all people from the European Union should provide the following documents: an identity card (valid abroad) or a passport; if they are younger than 15 years old, they must enter Italy with a parent. If the origin country adopted the Schengen Agreement, the document is not eventually checked at the border. For stays longer than three months, it is necessary to the register at the Municipality. The right of stay in Italy is recognized only to people from the European Union, working in Italy or having financial resources sufficient to guarantee their maintenance or for frequency to the courses; it is necessary to have a sanitary insurance.
Admission to Italian territory through the external borders of the Schengen Area is only permitted to foreigners who:
a. seek entry through a border crossing point;
b. possess a valid passport or equivalent travel document allowing them to cross the border;
c. possess documents substantiating the purpose and the conditions of the planned visit and have sufficient financial support, both for the period of the planned visit and to return to their country of origin (or to travel in transit to a Third State). A foreign who already holds a residence permit issued by one of the Contracting Parties is exempted from this requirement;
d. possess a valid entry or transit visa, if required;
e. have not been prohibited to enter through an alert in the Schengen Information System;
f. are not considered to be a threat to public policy, national security or the international relations of any of the Contracting Parties, under Italian law or the law of another Schengen State.
If any of the aforementioned conditions are not met, the foreign may be denied to entry by the border authorities, even if possessing a valid entry or transit visa.
If the foreigners extend theyr stay longer than 3 months, they need to apply for a new Visa at the Police headquarters or at the Post Office "Sportello Amico".
People sleeping in hotels, hostels or camping are automatically registered by the receptionist.
Member States of EU:
Austria, Belgio, Bulgaria, Cipro, Danimarca, Estonia, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Italia, Lettonia, Lituania, Lussemburgo, Malta, Paesi Bassi, Polonia, Portogallo, Regno Unito, Repubblica Ceca, Romania, Slovacchia, Slovenia, Spagna e Svezia, Ungheria.

Member States not subjects to obligation of Visa (for stays less or equal than 3 months):
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brasile, Brunei, Canada, Cile, Colombia, Corea del Sud, Costa Rica, Croazia, El Salvador, Giappone, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Islanda, Israele, Liechtenstein, Macao, Malesia, Messico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Norvegia, Nuova Zelanda, Panama, Paraguay, Polonia, San Marino, Santa Sede, Singapore, Stati Uniti, Svizzera, Uruguay, Venezuela.

For more information consult the website of the Italian Government: http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/ps/immigrazione/visto.htm


For drive vehicles:

It is necessary to bring the documents within the car (the log-book or rental document) and the driving licence (pink-licence UE or international driving licence); it is also necessary to have an international insurance (international green card). For the issuing, contact your own insurance company. 


National Health Service:

In order to take advantage of the national health service, UE citizens are required to possess the E111 card. Extra-UE citizens should contact the local authorities to know the existing agreements between Italy and their country. It is possible to contract an insurance company to take out an insurance covering medical expenses in Italy.

For more information see http://www.viaggiaresicuri.mae.aci.it/ It provides information about  health, safety conditions and possible cares to adopt during the stay.

Banks and change:

In Italy the banks open from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm and from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm (with variations according to the cities); their are closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays. 

Post office:

Most Post Offices are open from 8.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.; on Saturday and the last day of the month, their are closed at 12.00 a.m. In the biggest cities the Central Post Office is opened also in the afternoon until 6.30-7.00 p.m. and, the Saturday from 8.30 a.m. to 1.50 p.m.

For information see http://www.poste.it/online/cercaup/. It provides the Italian post offices list and the opening time.

Change:

Since 2002 the legal currency in Italy is Euro. 1 € corresponds to 1.936,27 Lire. In addition to Italy, others 11 Members States of EU use Euro.  Coins are: 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, 1 euro, 2 euro. Instead, paper money correspond to: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euro. It is possible to change money in the banks (generally the change is cheaper), in Postal Offices and in Exchange bureaus, with the payment of an errand. In the main railroad stations, airports or ports it is possible to change money using automatic exchange machines.

To calculate the changing value of Euro see: http://europa.eu.int/euro/html/entry.html


Phone calls:

For any phone call within Italy it is necessary to dial the city code and then the number. The country code for calling Italy from outside is ++39. For example, the code number of Rome is 06; therefore if you want to call the number 12345678 in Rome, from your country you must dial ++390612345678. Within Italy it suffices to dial 0612345678.  

For more information see: http://paginebianche.virgilio.it/localita.html, where it is possible to retrieve the city code within all Italy.

Emergency phone numbers:

• 112 Carabinieri
• 113 Emergency Police Help Number (also ambulance and fire)
• 115 Fire Department
• 116 A.C.I. (Italian Automobile Club) road assistance
• 118 Medical Emergencies 


International calls:

To call from Italy to a foreign country to you need to dial 00, plus the country code (for example, for Switzerland: 41) plus the region code (without 0) plus the subscriber number. To have information about international calls as well as the international phone book (E.U. and Mediterranean basin) dial 176; the service is available 24 hours per day and it costs 6 phone units.  

For international calls assisted by an operator dial 170.
For information about the local time throughout the world see  http://www.fusoorario.it/.