Safety On-Site

Crime

While Rome is in general a very safe city, this does not mean that crime is nonexistent. However, by following a few simple guidelines and using common sense, you can protect yourself and have a safe and fun time abroad.

• Avoid sketchy areas at night. Rome is an urban center that is full of people from all walks of life, including nomadic beggars who live on the streets. We recommend avoiding areas where these populations may gather at night, such as train stations, public parks (both gated and not), under bridges or covered walkways and along the Tiber riverbank. Additionally, most residents go home immediately after dinner and public transportation does not run regularly. Therefore, it is important to travel in groups and to consider taking a cab home if possible.
• Be careful when drinking. Be aware of your level of inebriation, and do not let yourself become heavily intoxicated to the point of being unable to keep yourself safe. Don't leave your drinks unattended. If drinking with a group, make sure you all leave together, and do not let a drunk friend go off on their own. 
• Know the common scams. This typically involve a "friendly" stranger offering you a free gift or asking for a small favor. They can be pushy, so know that it is not rude to decline. If you accept, they will either ask you to pay for it, or another person will attempt to pick your pocket while you are distracted. 
• Keep a low profile to deter pickpockets. Don't show off expensive jewelry. Consider switching from a purse to a more secure crossbody bag. (Fanny packs are not only fashionably "in" here in Italy but are also incredibly practical!) If you carry a bag or backpack, place it on your lap on public transportation. Do not carry your passport on you unless necessary. 

Your intuition is usually accurate: if you feel that the situation you are in is unsafe, retreat to a well-lit and populated area. 

Pickpocketing

While Italy is generally very safe, pickpocketing and purse-snatching are very common – especially in larger cities and in areas frequented by tourists. Being aware of your surroundings and carrying your things carefully can help you avoid this situation.

A few simple actions can help you avoid being targeted by thieves: 

• Be very careful with your things, especially when travelling to and from the airport, using public transportation, in busy streets, and in nightclubs.
• Once you have arrived at your hotel or apartment, lock up or hide all valuables (passport included) and only walk around the city with enough cash to get by for each day and a form of ID like your drivers license. 
• Don’t present yourself as wealthy, aloof, vulnerable, etc. 
• Limit your exposure – Instead of carrying around a designer purse, downsize and streamline to a basic wallet.
• Be wary of scammers – even the most innocent setups like asking for you to take a picture of/with might be setting you up for theft.

If you are robbed please follow these steps:

• If you are hurt or there was any violence involved, please call the emergency phone. If there was no violence involved you can send us an email to let us know what happened.
• File a police report. 
• Cancel any credit or debit cards that were taken.
• Notify the American consulate as they often receive lost IDs, wallets, etc.

Contact your on-site staff if you need any help at all!

• Leave your passport at home (make a photocopy of the front page to carry out).
• Don’t carry large sums of cash on you.
• Wear your bag and camera across your chest.
• Put your wallet and anything else of value in your front pockets.
• Keep your belongings in your lap when sitting on a terraza or at the bar/restaurant not on the floor or slung over the back of the chair.
• Be careful who you ask to take a picture with your camera (you may not see it again!).
• Use taxis to get home late at night.

If you feel you are being followed:

• Hotel front desks are often open 24/7 and are usually willing to call taxis.
• Head for well-lit and populated areas. 
• As soon as you feel you are in a safe location, call a taxi. 

Please take these precautions when out:

• Leave your passport at home (make a photocopy of the front page to carry out).
• Don’t carry large sums of cash on you.
• Wear your bag and camera across your chest.
• Put your wallet and anything else of value in your front pockets.
• Keep your belongings in your lap when sitting on a terraza or at the bar/restaurant not on the floor or slung over the back of the chair.
• Be careful who you ask to take a picture with your camera (you may not see it again!).
• Use taxis to get home late at night.

Calling For Help

When calling for help, it's important to clearly state your location, the nature of the emergency, and any other relevant information to ensure a prompt and effective response. English is widely understood in tourist areas, but having some basic Italian phrases may also be helpful in communicating with local authorities. Here are a few helpful phrases:

• • Aiuti (help me)

  • Per favore aiutatemi (please help me)

  • Per favore chiamate la polizia (please call the police)

  • Dottore/medico (doctor)

  • Ospedale (hospital)

  • Farmacia (medicine)

  • Infermiera (nurse)

  • Emergenza (emergency)

  • Incident (incident)

  • Danno (injury)

  • Dolore (pain)

Crossing the Street in Italy

Drivers in Italy are notoriously unfavorable to pedestrians, thus besides petty crime, the worst danger you might face in Italy may well be the act of simply crossing the street. In fact, every year around 600 pedestrians die on Italian streets, while another 21,000 are hurt. Indeed, the number of pedestrians hurt has declined over the past decade, but the overall number of pedestrian deaths in Italy as a whole has been more or less stable since 2004 (before it was significantly higher). Compared with the US where around 4,700 pedestrians die each year, that figure may not seem enormous. But for Europe, it is quite a lot, especially for a small country such as Italy.

Unlike what you might be used to in the States, do not expect Italians to bring their cars to a dead halt the very instant a pedestrian places his or her foot on the white, intersection zebra cross lines, otherwise known as le strisce, the stripes.

Here is some advice on how safely and effectively cross the streets of Italy:

• Stand for a while on the curb at a busy pedestrian crossing and try to learn from the self-assurance that most Italians demonstrate;
• If there are Italians crossing, just scurry alongside them. If you are on your own, or surrounded by tourists, the trick is to get up your courage and stride confidently into the fray because if you just stand there waiting for drivers to stop, you could be therefor quite a while;
• Alternatively, hold out your arm, palm up and out in a stop gesture, and hurry across. Make eye contact with the drivers!
• Do NOT look undecided and stop in the middle of the crossing, like a deer caught in headlights.
• Do NOT stop and start.
• Do NOT become aggressive.

And remember – and this is important – the zebra stripes are not always zebra stripes. Some simply mark a crosswalk at an intersection governed by a traffic stoplight, a semaforo, which always takes precedence. So to put it simply, if there is a working traffic light, then this is NOT a pedestrian crossing and you do NOT have the right to cross on a red light.

Major Incidents

Earthquake Preparedness

The information below has been adapted from the official National Civil Protection Agency – Protezione Civile. For more information, please visit click here.

Italy and quakes 101

The Italian territory is exposed to seismic risk, thus being prepared for an earthquake is fundamental.

Safety depends mainly on the building where you live. If it is an anti-seismic building, it won’t be subject to major damages and will protect you. Wherever you are in the moment of an earthquake, it is very important to keep calm and follow some simple rules of behavior.

Keep in mind that some of the fundamental rules might be different here than in your home country because of different structural components of buildings and different rescue methods.

Over the past thousand years, some 3,000 earthquakes have provoked serious and less serious damages. Almost 300 of them (with a magnitude higher than 5.5) had destructive effects and one every ten years has catastrophic effects, with an energy comparable to the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009. Any Italian municipality can be affected by earthquake effects, despite the strongest earthquakes are focused in the following areas: Northern-Eastern Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto), Western Liguria, Northern Apennines (from Garfagnana to the Rimini area), and, above all, across the Central and Southern Apennines, in Calabria and Eastern Sicily. While you may not live in one of these areas, it is still important that earthquakes still can occur or their effects felt. 

When will the next earthquake occur?

Nobody knows, as it might occur anytime. We know a lot of things about earthquakes, but it is not yet possible to predict when, with which strength and precisely where they will occur. We know, though, which are the most dangerous areas and we know what to expect from an earthquake; being prepared is the best thing towards prevention and reduction of the earthquake consequences.

How can we better prepare our dwellings for an earthquake?

• Put heavy items on lower shelves; on the higher ones, you can hold objects with double-sided tape.
• In the kitchen, secure the cupboard flaps where plates and glasses are contained, so that they do not open during the shock.
• Learn where are and how to close the taps of gas and water and the master light switch/breaker box.
• Identify safe places in the house, where you can find a shelter in case of an earthquake: doorways, angles of the walls, under the table or under the bed.
• Keep at home a first aid kit, a flashlight, a battery-powered radio and make sure everyone knows where they are.
• Get informed if there is a Civil Protection Plan of your Municipality and what it provides for; should it not be available, ask for it, in order to know how to behave in case of emergency.
• Finally, remove anything that, in case of an earthquake, can be a danger to you or your roommates.

What to do during and after an earthquake

If you are indoors:

• Find a shelter under a beam, in the doorway or by a load-bearing wall.
• Watch out for things that could fall and hit you (plaster, ceilings, windows, furniture, etc.).
• Pay attention to the stairs- in general they are not very resistant and can be damaged.
• Avoid taking the elevator – it can get stuck.

If you are outdoors:

• Move away from buildings, trees, lamp posts, power lines: you could be struck by tiles and other materials that can fall.
• Pay attention to other possible consequences of the earthquake: collapse of bridges, landslides, gas leaks, etc.

After an earthquake:

• Make sure the state of health of the people around you and, if necessary, be the First Aider.
• Come out with caution, wearing shoes: you may get hurt in the streets with broken glass.
• If you are in a zone exposed to tsunami risk, move away from the beach and reach a higher place.
• Limit, as much as possible, the use of the phone.
• Limit the use of the car to avoid obstructing the passage of emergency vehicles.
• Reach the waiting areas provided by the Civil Protection Plan of your Municipality.
• Once you are safe, please mark yourself safe through social media and inform your site director.

STEP Program

The US government provides a free service known as the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to all US citizens. Enrolling in this program registers your trip with the U.S. Embassy. In the case of an emergency, this allows the Embassy to contact you with important safety information, and can help put you in touch with friends and family. 

"Io Non Rischio" Emergency Alerts in Italy

Io Non Rischio is a service provided by the National Civic Protection System. By registering with your phone number and email, you will be alerted by the NCPS of any emergencies that may occur during your trip (e.g. earthquakes, floods, etc). This is an excellent service for keeping you up to date on any emergency situations in Italy so you can plan accordingly.