Communications in Italy
Phone calls in Italy
Phone booths can be found anywhere. From post offices and some bars you can call using the "scatti" system, where payment is made after the phone call. The most convenient payment method is "carta telefonica", which can be bought in any tobacco kiosk. You can also use coins, but most public telephones in Italy use phone cards.
International calls can be made from a phone booth or ordered at phone call centers. The price of a call may vary depending on the time of day (after 8:30PM the tariffs are significantly reduced). Making phone calls in Italy is the cheapest from 10PM till 8AM, but there are discounts from 6:30PM till 10PM as well. Also, during international phone calls in Italy you can use phone cards which offer significant discounts for certain countries, at the same time the cards will offer less advantageous rates for phone calls to other countries. During phone calls between Italian cities as well as to cell phones, it is necessary to dial "0" before the code.
Local phone calls in Italy, from a payphone, cost 0,10 € for three/six minutes during peak hours/other hours. The tariffs for international calls depend on the time of day, day of the week, and recipient's location. One minute of conversation over telephones in Italy can cost you a maximum of 0,20 € during peak hours. A five minute call to Australia from a public phone booth at 11PM will cost approximately 6,20 €. Making calls from telephones in Italy to any European country costs approximately 0,65 € for the first minute and 0,40 € for every other minute.
Emergency Calls:
- Carabineers (military police) -112
- Medical Emergency – 118 or 113 (in Rome 5510)
- Police – 113 (in Rome 4686)
- Fire Department - 115
- Italian Automotive Club – 116
Postal Service in Italy
Postal service in Italy is available at numerous post offices that open Monday through Friday from 8:25AM till 1:50PM and from 8:25 till Noon on Saturdays. Central post offices work from 8:25AM till 7:00PM without breaks. Postal service in Italy is famous for its unreliability. Letters can take week to be delivered, which is why in the case of urgency it is advisable to use special express mail or courier services.
Postal service in Italy is unreliable, slow, and expensive. Stamps are sold at post offices and tobacco kiosks, which are marked with a big white letter "T" on a black background. Local letters arrive to a neighboring town during a five-seven day period.
Sending a regular letter (under 20grams) to any EU member country through the postal service in Italy costs 0,60 €.A registered letter or insured letter can be delivered faster than regular mail. A registered letter in a standard envelope will cost 2,60 € to be delivered to any EU member country, while the surcharge for the insured letter is 5,15 €.
Poste restante letters will be stored at the post office of the recipient's city until they are called for. You will have to get the letter in person and be prepared to present a passport or some other form of identification. Holders of tourist checks or AMEX cards can take advantage of having their mail stored free of charge at AMEX offices.
Internet in Italy
Access to the internet in Italy is available through a relatively large amount of internet cafes and Wi-Fi zones. Regular access to the internet in Italy is available not only at an internet café. At any airport, hotel, and many other similar places you can gain access through specially configured ports for accessing internet in Italy. According to the law of increased information security, internet cafes in Italy and other similar places that offer electronic communication services do not permit visitors without proper identification, such as a passport.
