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Italy: the questions with a number in them

Eight questions carry most of the traffic on this site, and every one of them has a figure at the end: the coperto has no national law, 112 is free even without a SIM, tap water met the health parameters in 99.1% of tests, and your stay is capped at 90 days in any 180.

The bill: two charges people mix up

The coperto and the tip are separate, and only one of them can appear on your bill without your consent. Italy has no national law on the coperto, so a restaurant may charge it or not, but any price component has to be published on the price list before you order.

The tip sits outside all that. Law 197 of December 29, 2022 defines it as money customers give to workers as a liberality and taxes it as employment income with a reduced substitute rate, which is a strange way of saying nobody can bill you for it.

The full split, including the region where the coperto is banned outright, is in money and tipping.

The number to call, and why it is only one

112 reaches police, carabinieri, fire brigade, coast guard and ambulance through a single answering center that routes your call to the right operations room. You do not choose the service, you describe what happened.

The call is free from any phone, including one with no SIM, no credit or a locked keypad. Non-voice channels exist too, and they are set out in health and emergencies.

The fine that arrives after you get home

A ZTL fine is a photograph turned into a letter: the camera at the gate reads your plate and the penalty arrives by post weeks later. Nothing physical stops a car at the boundary of an Italian historic center, which is exactly why visitors drive in.

Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples and Bologna all run one. Hours, sectors and the Milan charge are in driving, with the boundaries drawn on the ZTL map.

Water, and the bottle you may not need

Italian tap water met the health parameters in 99.1% of tests between 2020 and 2022, across more than 2.5 million analyses in 18 regions. Article 17 of legislative decree 18/2023 asks regions to install public drinking points at airports, stations and beach clubs.

Restaurants are encouraged to pour tap water free rather than required to, so asking is fair and a no is legitimate.

The 90 days that are not Italian

The 90 days in 180 belong to the Schengen area, not to Italy: a week in France spends a week of your Italian allowance. Above that threshold the document is a national type D visa, valid 91 to 365 days.

Border formalities, biometrics and the declaration you owe after arrival are in entry and documents. Trains, museum bookings and month by month weather have their own pages: trains, tickets and museums, weather and seasons.

What happens when we do not know

There is no rounding of a gap into a guess here: where a figure is missing, the sentence says so and names the office that holds it. Nothing rated low confidence in our own ledger reaches a published page.

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FAQ

What is coperto and am I supposed to tip in Italy?

They are two different things. The coperto is a cover charge with no national law behind it, neither banned nor regulated, and it has to appear on the price list before you order. A tip is voluntary: Italian law calls it a liberality, not a charge you owe.

Is tipping expected in Italian bars and taxis?

No. Law 197 of December 29, 2022 treats a tip as money the customer chooses to give, taxed for the worker as employment income at a reduced substitute rate. Nothing in the law makes a service charge compulsory, which is why the amount is yours to decide.

What number do I call in an emergency in Italy?

112, for police, fire, coast guard or ambulance. One answering center takes the call and passes it to the right operations room, so you do not have to pick the service yourself. The operator will ask where you are, what happened, and your name.

Does 112 work if my phone has no SIM or no credit?

Yes. The 112 call is free from landlines and mobiles, and it goes through with no SIM in the phone, no credit on the account, and the keypad locked. That is the one number worth writing down before you land.

What is a ZTL in Italy and how do I avoid the fine?

A Zona a Traffico Limitato is a camera-controlled zone: the historic center of most Italian cities, open only to registered plates in set hours. Cameras at the gates read every plate and the fine is issued automatically, with nothing stopping you at the boundary. Park outside and walk in.

Can I drink the tap water in Italy?

Yes. Across 2020 to 2022 Italian tap water met the health parameters in 99.1% of tests and the indicator parameters in 98.4%, over 2.5 million analyses in 18 regions covering more than 90% of the population. No region scored below 95%.

Do I have to pay for water in an Italian restaurant?

Usually you buy a bottle, and that is a habit rather than a rule. Article 17 of legislative decree 18/2023 pushes regions to spread free drinking water, with public points at airports, stations and beach clubs, and encourages restaurants to serve tap water free. It is a promotion measure, not an obligation.

How long can I stay in Italy without a visa?

90 days in any 180-day window, counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country. Past 90 days the instrument is a national type D visa, valid 91 to 365 days and issued by one state. A visa never guarantees entry on its own.

Sources (8)

  1. 1Agenzia delle Entrate · recheck by 2027-12-31
  2. 2Consiglio regionale del Lazio - L.R. 29 novembre 2006, n. 21, art. 16 · recheck by 2028-12-31
  3. 3Ministero dell'Interno - Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza; Ministero dell'Interno; Prefettura - UTG di Frosinone (Ministero dell'Interno) · recheck by 2028-12-31
  4. 40Prefettura - UTG di Frosinone (Ministero dell'Interno); Ministero dell'Interno - Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza · recheck by 2028-12-31
  5. 5Roma Servizi per la Mobilita' (Roma Capitale); Comune di Firenze; Comune di Milano; Comune di Napoli · recheck by 2027-09-01
  6. 699.1% · 98.4% · 2,500,000Istituto Superiore di Sanita' (ISS) · recheck by 2027-06-30
  7. 7Istituto Superiore di Sanita' (ISS) · recheck by 2027-12-31
  8. 890 · 180Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale - portale 'Il visto per l'Italia'; Commissione europea - DG HOME · recheck by 2028-12-31

Updated 2026-09-02