La Dolce Vita has never been sweeter.
Italy's climate varies from north to south and from lowland to mountain top. Temperatures at sea-level tend to be similar around the country, with altitudes creating steep changes between summer and winter. Winters are long and severe in the Alps, with snow falling as early as mid-September. Storms develop in spring and tend to last to autumn, making summer the wettest season. The northern regions experience chilly winters, hot summers and regular even rain distribution, while conditions become milder as you head south. The sirocco, the hot and humid African wind that affects regions south of Rome, produces at least a couple of stiflingly hot weeks in summer.
Italy has no area codes as such. The regional 'code' is an integral part of the telephone number and is used both within and from outside the area.
To phone Italy from abroad, use your local international access code + the country code (39) + area code + number.
Most Italian phone jacks are now the standard RJ-11 socket. Some older jacks are sill around - you need to pick up a special adaptor from an electronics store if you need one to plug into the old-fashioned three-prong socket; such an adaptor will have the three prongs to go into the wall and the RJ-11 socket on the other side for you to insert a cable.
Italy has one of the highest levels of mobile phone penetration in Europe, and there are four main companies through which you can get a temporary or prepaid account if you already own a GSM, dual- or tri-band cellular phone. You will usually need your passport to open an account. Always check with your mobile service provider in your home country to ascertain whether your handset allows use of another SIM card (usually they do not). If yours does, it can cost as little as EUR 10.00 to activate a local prepaid SIM card (sometimes with EUR 10.00 worth of calls on the card!).
Of the four main mobile phone companies TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) and Vodafone-Omnitel have the densest networks of outlets across the country.
Euro notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. It is often difficult to get change for a EUR 500.00 note.
One euro is divided into 100 cents or centimes. Coins of 1, 2 and 5 centimes are copper-coloured; coins of 10, 20 and 50 centimes are gold-coloured; 1 and 2 euro coins are gold-and-silver coloured. It's a good idea to keep a supply of various coins for parking meters, laundrettes, tolls etc.
Service charges are included in your restaurant bill, so you are not expected to tip. It is common practice, however, to leave a small amount. In bars, Italians will usually leave any small change as a tip, but this is by no means obligatory. Be aware that prices in Italian bars and cafes double (sometimes even triple) if you sit down. Tipping taxi drivers is not necessary, but your hotel porter will expect a little something.
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