Driving in Italy ZTL rules, fines and parking for visitors

The Bologna, Palermo, Milan, Verona, Lucca, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Rome, Siena and Naples guides say where the zone is, the hours, and where to leave the car. From the airport, the Fiumicino and Ciampino guides say whether the car is for Rome.

A ZTL is a zone where the plate is read. Without an authorisation that covers your case, the fine is issued, usually by post. The Highway Code puts this unauthorised entry between €83 and €332.

The sign at the gate comes first, ahead of hours read somewhere else. Two neighbouring cities do not have the same gates or the same hours.

Turin has a central ZTL. Its hours, its permits and its deadlines are not set out in this guide.

Milan, Area C, the centre: Monday to Friday 7:30–19:30, public holidays excluded. The ticket is €7.50 for every entry that day. Activating it online does not require MyAreaC. €22.50 is the rate for an entry settled late, not the fine, and that one goes through MyAreaC. Area B has the same hours and is not charged if the car is allowed. The blind-spot rule covers lorries, vans and buses in categories M2, N2, M3 and N3, not the private car.

Florence: sectors A, B and O all year, Monday to Friday 7:30–20:00, Saturday 7:30–16:00. Take the day permit before the gate. Bologna: Sirio every day 7:00–20:00, ticket activated before entry. Naples: four gates, no tourist pass. Verona: since 28 October 2024, a reservation for anyone who lives in the city or the province, 4 times a month at most.

If the hotel is inside the ZTL, give it the plate before you arrive, under the city's rule. In Verona, this covers the hotel and complementary accommodation in the zone, not a tourist rental. In Naples, the temporary permit is requested at permessitemporanei.ztl@comune.napoli.it.

In Bologna, the hotel, the bed and breakfast, the garage or the workshop sends the plate to the comune. Untick “targa italiana” if the plate is foreign.

• Verona: give the plate to the hotelier, not for a tourist rental.
• Bologna: the manager sends the plate. Untick the Italian-plate box.
• Naples: no tourist ticket. Email the city for a temporary permit.
• Florence: day permit before the gate, issued by SAS.

Entering a ZTL without authorisation costs €83 to €332 under the Highway Code. The notice arrives by post.

In Milan, €7.50 is not that fine, and it does not make a banned car legal. €22.50 is the price of settling the entry late, not the fine either.

A low emission zone, such as Area B in Milan or the Fascia Verde in Rome, is not the ZTL of the centre. Meeting one does not open the other.

The sign at the gate comes first. Without an authorisation that covers your case, do not enter.

In Milan, Area B surrounds the centre. It has the same hours as Area C and is not charged if the car is allowed. The most polluting vehicles, goods vehicles longer than 12 metres and dangerous goods are banned there during those hours.

In Rome, the Fascia Verde is an environmental zone separate from the ZTL of the centre. Its rules do not follow from the hours of another city.

The simplest choice is often to leave the car outside the ZTL and finish on foot or by public transport. Check the car-park fare on the operator's website. A car park does not replace a permit if the last kilometre is still inside the zone.

Amanda knows the ZTL of Italian cities. With Premium, it warns you when your route crosses a zone, shows the zones on the map, can plan a route around them and, if your destination is inside one, suggests an arrival point just outside with parking nearby. Road signs always come first.

Speed cameras are announced for free, about 30 seconds ahead, where the law allows it, as danger zones in France.