Page 15 - DK Eyewitness: Back Roads Northern and Central Italy (Travel Guide)

Practical Information 13

Left US passports Middle Recent legislation is slowly making the area more accessible for Disabled Travellers Right The carabinieri, a military police force
marked increase in jellyfish numbers your valuables in zip or button-down DIRECTORY
in the Mediterranean. None are pockets. Unless you speak good Italian,
particularly dangerous, but a sting it is better to report a crime in person CONSULATES
is painful and can leave weals on the rather than phoning. If you are going Australian Consulate General
skin for days. To relieve the pain and to claim for stolen goods on your 3rd Floor, Via Borgogna 2, 20122 Milan;
0277 6741; www.italy.embassy.gov.au
swelling, wash the wound with sea insurance, you will need a crime report.
water (never fresh water, which will There are two crime-fighting forces British Consulate General
Via San Paolo 7, 20121 Milan; 0272
react with the sting and worsen the in Italy, the rivalry between which is 3001; www.gov.uk/government/world/
pain) and put a bag of ice on it for five legendary. The carabinieri, the military organisations/british-embassy-rome
or ten minutes before disinfecting it. branch, have stations in just about Canadian Consulate General
In severe cases, seek medical attention. every village; the civil police, polizia PIazza Cavour 3; 02 62694238
di Stato, have a station, known as the New Zealand Consulate General
Personal Security questura, in most sizeable towns. Either Via Terraggio 17, 20123 Milan;
Random violence is generally less can furnish you with a crime report, 02 721 70001; www.nzembassy.com
prevalent in Italian society than in but English is not always spoken. United States Consulate General
Via Principe Amedeo 2/10, 20121 Milan;
many northern European countries. 0229 0351; milan.usconsulate.gov
Drinking to excess is simply not a Disabled Travellers
cultural norm, and Italy suffers less Italy can be quite challenging for the TRAVEL SAFETY ADVICE
from alcohol abuse than anywhere mobility-impaired. Archaeological Australia
www.dfat.gov.au; smartraveller.gov.au
else in the Western world. As a result, sights and castles can be inaccessible
drunken violence is mercifully rare. by their nature, and even museums United Kingdom
www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Petty crime, however, is just as rife as and galleries are frequently stepped, United States of America
in any European country, particularly with non-existent or poorly main- www.travel.state.gov
in inner-city and tourist areas. Take tained lifts. On-street parking and
care in stations, markets, on public uneven pavements can make villages HEALTH
transport and around busy tourist and towns hard work for those using Medicare Australia
www.humanservices.gov.au/
sights; keep an especially close eye sticks or wheelchairs, and for the sight- customer/dhs/medicare
on your mobile phone and camera. impaired too. Recent legislation is UK Department of Health
Make sure you leave bags or valuables beginning to make a difference in www.dh.gov.uk
out of sight when you park your car, some areas: spacious, specially
especially if you have foreign plates. adapted toilets are on the increase in
You will always look like a tourist to bars and restaurants, as are modified Below far left Pedestrian crossing signal
those with a trained eye, but try not bedrooms in hotels; but you should Below left Ambulance Below middle Police
to be an easy target; look as if you come to Italy aware that it won’t woman giving directions Below right Herbal
know where you’re going, and keep always be free-wheeling. pharmacy Below Police officer directing traffic

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