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DRIVING

The worst times to drive in Italy over Easter weekend

As some 10.5 million people in the country prepare for an Easter getaway, drivers on Italy's roads can expect heavy traffic over the long weekend.

Published: 28 March 2024 10:04 CET
Updated: 29 March 2024 12:41 CET
Traffic, Italy
Congested traffic is far from a rare occurrence on and around national public holidays in Italy. Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

Italy’s motorways (or autostrade) rarely see much in the way of heavy traffic on regular weekdays or weekends. But that all changes around national public holidays as hundreds of thousands of people take to the road to reach their chosen holiday destinations. 

That’s why Italy’s State Police (Polizia di Stato) issues traffic warnings ahead of all of Italy’s major holidays, including Easter weekend, and even publishes its own calendar showing when traffic is predicted to be at its worst.

The calendar is colour-coded, with a yellow marker indicating heavy traffic, red indicating heavy traffic with ‘possible critical conditions’, and black indicating ‘critical’ traffic.

As some 10.5 million people in Italy are currently expected to travel for the upcoming vacanze di pasqua, Italian roads are expected to see heavy traffic over the long weekend, though some days (and times) will be worse than others for motorists.

When is traffic most likely?

Good Friday, which is generally when most people in Italy leave for their Easter getaways, is expected to be marked by heavy traffic in the morning, with possible critical conditions in the second half of the day. 

Potentially critical congestion is expected to continue into the morning of Saturday, March 30th, though overall traffic should slightly improve in the afternoon.

Easter weekend traffic forecasts in Italy, Easter 2024

Official road traffic forecasts for the Easter weekend from Italy’s Polizia di Stato

As in previous years, Easter Sunday should be a better day for drivers as most Italians tend to focus on their family lunches rather than travelling on the day. Some roads, however, may still see intense traffic in the morning.

Unsurprisingly, the whole of Easter Monday (or pasquetta in Italian) is expected to be marked by heavy traffic, with possibly critical conditions in the afternoon and evening.

Many Italians will take a trip out of town (the so-called gita fuori porta) on the day, which is likely to result in intense traffic on many routes, especially roads connecting big cities to popular seaside or countryside locations.

On top of that, pasquetta officially closes the Easter holidays, which means that many of those who spent the long weekend away from home will likely be making the journey back on Monday afternoon or evening. 

READ ALSO: How to pay Italian traffic fines from abroad

Heavy traffic is expected to persist in the morning of Tuesday, April 2nd, with the situation forecast to worsen in the afternoon.

Travel on Italian roads should only return to normal conditions on Wednesday.

Which roads are most likely to see heavy traffic?

Motorways connecting the north of the country to the south are the most likely to experience heavy traffic over the Easter holidays as many Italians will return to their hometowns to spend time with family and friends.

Motorway A1, which connects Milan to Naples, and Motorway A14, connecting Bologna to Taranto, are both likely to see traffic jams over the long weekend, especially on Good Friday and Easter Monday. 

But drivers may also come across heavy traffic on the following routes:

  • A4 Turin – Trieste
  • A6 Turin – Savona
  • A7 Milan – Genoa
  • A10 Genoa – Ventimiglia
  • A12 Genoa – Rosignano
  • A22 Brenner Pass – Modena
  • A24 Rome – Teramo

Major state roads (or strade statali in Italian) connecting big cities to popular coastal or countryside locations may also be affected by heavy traffic, especially on Easter Monday.

Useful information for travellers

If you’re planning on travelling this weekend, there are a number of resources that you can use to keep up to date with the latest developments on the road.

This online map from Italy’s motorway construction and maintenance company ANAS features live updates on road closures, maintenance work, traffic levels and even weather conditions. The service is also available through their mobile app, ‘VAI’.

READ ALSO: What is Italy’s Telepass and how do you use it?

Motorway company Autostrade per l’Italia offers a similar live map (also available in English), showing road closures and traffic jams as well as the locations of the nearest petrol stations and service areas. 

Finally, if you’d like to speak directly with an operator while you’re on the road, you can do so by either contacting ANAS’s customer service at 800 841 148 or calling the Transport Ministry’s info centre (CCISS) at 1518. 

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DRIVING

MAP: How much do car insurance costs vary around Italy?

Italy is one of the most expensive countries in Europe when it comes to vehicle insurance – but some parts of the peninsula are far pricier than others.

Published: 10 May 2024 16:08 CEST
MAP: How much do car insurance costs vary around Italy?

Car insurance has been in the news in Italy this week following media reports of an emerging insurance evasion tactic that sees growing numbers of Italian motorists dodge steep coverage charges by having their vehicle registered in another EU country, with Poland being the most popular choice. 

The phenomenon, which is estimated to have already led to the presence of over 50,000 foreign-plate vehicles in the country, follows major increases in car insurance costs in recent years, with the average cost of third-party liability insurance (Responsabilita’ Civile or RC in Italian) rising by over 10 percent in the past two years.

But, as consumer groups say these increases are “totally unjustified”, how much does insuring a vehicle currently cost in Italy?

According to the latest available data from Italy’s insurance supervision authority IVASS, the average cost of the compulsory RC coverage – this only covers the costs of damage and injury to other parties – is 395 euros a year. 

For reference, minimum compulsory insurance costs motorists in Germany 304 euros a year on average, whereas drivers in Greece and Poland spend an average of 145 and 120 euros respectively every year, according to data from national auto repair shop association Federcarrozzieri.

READ ALSO: How can you lose your driving licence in Italy?

It’s also worth noting that motorists in Italy often choose to tack on one or more optional insurance policies (these are known as ‘additional guarantees’ or garanzie accessorie) to their basic RC coverage, with additional expenses amounting to somewhere between 400 and 500 euros in some cases.

While there is no publicly available data on how the costs of insurance add-ons vary around the country, IVASS regularly publishes a breakdown of the cost of RC coverage by Italian province.

The latest available report, which refers to data collected in February 2024, shows stark differences in insurance charges around the country, with a 280-euro gap separating the most expensive province (Naples) from the most affordable one (Enna, Sicily).

Besides Naples (569 euros a year on average), the list of ten most expensive Italian provinces for basic RC policies is completed by: Prato (565 euros), Caserta (508), Florence (483), Pistoia (482), Massa-Carrara (480), Lucca (464), Pisa (454), Roma (451) and Genoa (441).

Six of these provinces are located in Tuscany.

READ ALSO: The key vocabulary you’ll need for taking your driving test in Italy

On the other end of the spectrum, Enna (289 euros a year) is followed by: Oristano (297), Potenza (301), Pordenone (312), Vercelli (315), Biella (316), Aosta (316), Campobasso (321), Trento (322), Udine (324) and Gorizia (325).

What’s behind these differences?

The cost of Italy’s RC policy varies depending on the characteristics of the vehicle needing insurance as well as a driver’s personal details, with their location playing a major role in the final bill.

In particular, insurance costs are higher in areas with a high frequency of car accidents (hence why insurance tends to be more expensive in large metropolitan areas than in rural areas) and in areas with high rates of insurance fraud and insurance evasion (an estimated 2.6 million vehicles circulate in the country without the mandatory RC coverage).

Though Giuseppe Conte’s government in 2018 advanced plans to standardise the cost of basic RC insurance and apply the same charge (or tariffa unica) to all motorists around the country, these were later abandoned following consumer groups’ concerns that the new system would ultimately penalise drivers in “the more virtuous provinces”.

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