129
No, standing is not illegal in Venice. I think the quote got lost in translation. The Italian version says:
È proibito comunque sostare per consumare cibi o bevande ad esclusione delle aree in concessione ai Pubblici Esercizi.
As a native Italian speaker, I would translate this as:
It is forbidden to stop to eat or drink except in areas ...
107
I would say it's the other way around. Italian chefs don't like to see leftovers on the plate as it could signal that you didn't like the food. Once, in a local bar in which I have lunch every day, I left with an unfinished plate on the table, and I was interrogated the next day to make sure nothing was wrong with the food.
However, there is another ...
101
Main Courses
Pizza al Trancio
The single best street food that you can have in Italy is pizza al trancio i.e. a slice of pizza on the go. It doesn't get more typical and local than this. You find this in both bakeries and dedicated pizzeria al trancio. Some cities cut slices out of round pizzas, others out of rectangular ones. In both cases, you walk in ...
100
I was in Venice in summer 2013. It didn't smell bad, even though it was hot. We asked some locals (who we were staying with) about the legendary smell.
Historically, raw sewage was simply dumped into the canals and (eventually) washed out to sea. This had been the status quo for centuries, with some improvement over the years but there was still lots of old ...
98
Answer
Can I get financial compensation?
Can you first quantify in euros how much damage you suffered from detention? If yes, consult a lawyer asking if there is any rule granting you compensation. If no, you can't demand anything.
Quantification can be done by any means, like missed connection and suffered costs. Despite any formula, you need a ...
92
Answer by a local here.
I work 200 meters from Duomo of Milan, so I find them at the underground exit every morning.
First and foremost, remember that most of the people doing this are pushed by a local "mafia" system. Therefore a good amount (from 70 to 80%) of their pay is just thrown away, and they live in a deplorable condition, so if you don't want to ...
68
There is no online database lookup when you leave Italy. At the most they will check your passport to make sure it is valid, and stamp it if necessary. Theoretically this could be done if you use the passport e-gates if they're at the airport you're using and you're eligble to use them. However, there is absolutely zero chance that Italian bureaucracy would ...
67
You have to be assertive, just say NO! (or BASTA! or any other local equivalent ) loud and direct. That is how most locals deal with them.
Don't interact with them, don't engage; turn/move away.
If you feel threatened, walk away towards a store, shop or other places that look to be official (museum entrance, ...) and if you see a police, walk towards them....
64
I'd say the chance to get any kind of financial compensation is low. There is no compensation provision in Schengen Borders Code, and I doubt there is one in the Italian national law.
You can pursue the court case against them, but note that even Article 8 gives the border officials leeway:
However, on a non-systematic basis, when carrying out minimum ...
61
The only logical explaination is that he was simply suggesting you to hurry up, because the pizza was getting cold and you wouldn't taste it in its best moment (when the mozzarella is still hot). Service in Italy is generally great, so what I would think is that he was doing me a favour.
Actually there's also the possibility that he was stressing you to ...
55
It looks like it's Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre - five very cute and colourful towns on the Italian coast. The photo seems to be shot as much the same as this image, but flipped for some reason:
Image by chensiyuan [ GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
Unfortunately, your visit might be more difficult than you'd like. Some ...
43
As Hatef already told you in his answer it is really the other way around!
Said that, the thing is a bit more complicated and it is much more context-dependent than Hatef said.
First of all, you said chef/host, so I guess you are interested in local customs in private situations. In that case it depends greatly on the situation. In general if you don't ...
42
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the US government's public health agency, currently gives the following advice about travel to Italy:
Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel—Widespread Community Transmission
CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Italy. There is limited access to adequate medical care in affected ...
40
First of all, looking at the reviews for Osteria da Nico on Tripadvisor, regrettably you fell prey to a tourist trap.
Regarding your question on pricing by weight: such is typical for foods such as meat (e.g. a steak) or especially seasonal fish but very untypical for regular courses (such as e.g. a Pizza). You can find the menu of a reputable Italian ...
40
(I read the question title "Munich from Rome" and therefore this is a northbound description, but the route should by symmetrical in the opposite direction)
You can't do this entirely by train avoiding long tunnels, but you can take a combination of trains and buses, essentially take trains to the foot of the Alps, buses across the big passes, then get on ...
37
It's the seed tufts of a poplar species, specifically Populus nigra:
As this article says:
The tree loves a wet, marshy soil. Which explains why there are so many poplars around Milan and in the Po River plain generally, which is a pretty soggy place. And in Milan, the problem of flying white fluff was truly awful. These pictures are not from Milan but ...
34
From Saint-Peter's Basilica site:
Per the sign, both men and women must wear clothing that covers the shoulders and knees.
34
According to the ataf website (which I can transalte for you in the part concerning administrative fines), you have 15 days to pay the fine before getting a written notification. After the notification, you will have to pay the full fine (rather than a reduced one) within the next 60 days. After that term, an additional procedure (possibly via court) will ...
33
I have heard this "fact" many times. Another version states that this is especially true in the summer.
I was on a trip to Italy only last month and visited Venice as part of it. I spent three days there, took vaporettos (ferries) and walked most of the time. The water ways and canals do host a wide variety of algae and water-weeds and it is indeed true ...
33
TRENORD Rules for Buying Tickets Onboard
The Limito di Pioltello to Milano Centrale railway section is handled by TRENORD, the regional train company for the northen metropolitan area of Milan. According to their rules (in Italian), you can purchase tickets on the train depending on the situation in which you board. In order to ensure not being considered ...
31
Here are some advice. This is focused on those aspect of road safety (e.g. "how bad they drive") to warn the reader and have him prepared for a safer defensive drive. For this reason, please remember that while from my explanation Italian motorists will intentionally look insane to you, they have a very strong defensive drive concept and actually drive quite ...
31
As described by the Associazione Giochi Antichi, the association of ancient games which, in Verona, is called s-cianco:
A BIT OF HISTORY
S-Cianco , the shorter of the two tools with which you play, it is [also] known in Italian as the lippa.
The game has very ancient origins, as evidenced by the discovery of the late Verona researcher Marco ...
31
I think you are out of luck because in my understanding, the officer was right and you were wrong. Well, the officer is always right to begin with, but in this case, he really is.
You correctly state that as an EU citizen you have the right to move freely within the territory of the Member States and need nothing but an ID card. Ukraine is not a member ...
30
"3 Hours" is a very common recommendation for international flights at many airports around the world - and it's almost always far more time that you need. Airlines like to get passengers to the airport early, not only because it gives more buffer if there are any problems, but also as it spreads out the "rush" period before the flight - you can imagine what ...
28
It's common practice in Italy. It's called "coperto" (cover charge). Even though it's sometimes phrased as "pane e coperto" (bread and cover charge) but even if you don't touch the bread you are still required to pay for it. It is usually stated somewhere on the menu, although in some cases not very prominently.
So this does not only happen to tourists. To ...
28
Look for unmanned automatic laundry places. Since the washers/dryers there are usually coin-operated, you'll find a coin dispensing machine to convert your notes into shrapnel. You're likely to also find similar machines at self-service car-washes, or in any other business providing coin-operated services. They usually look something like this:
Cassa per ...
28
Ignore them. Don't engage in conversation. A polite but firm NO should suffice whilst walking away assertively.
Unfortunately these things are very common in large cities in mainland Europe.
27
This happens in a number of places, due to the way European Routes are numbered. They're more of a concept than an actual road, and as such, they're often disconnected.
For example the E20 consists of several segments that would not normally be considered a "road":
a ferry between Dublin(IE) and Liverpool(UK)
a gap between Hull(UK) and Esbjerg(DK)
another ...
25
Only ever present your Italian passport or ID card at border control when entering/exiting an EU/Schengen country, provided you have it.
The same goes for your upcoming exit; only present your Italian document.
Firstly because you have a unconditional right to be there, and secondly entries and exits aren't electronically recorded, so they won't notice ...
25
I'm currently in Rome, where you are considering travelling. The situation here is normal, given there are very few reported confirmed cases (6 so far, including 3 that have been declared 'recovered').
In general, people are more cautious with being near each other but mostly people are going about their business as usual. For example, if you go to a ...
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