🇮🇹 Italy
Overview
Italy is one of the world's most visited countries, and for most travelers it is a straightforward destination. You should take the same everyday care you would in any major European city: watch your belongings around famous sights and on crowded trains, and expect a steady background of scams and pickpocketing wherever tourists gather.
Italy's more distinctive risks are geological rather than criminal. The country sits on an active seismic belt and hosts several of Europe's most closely monitored volcanoes, including Naples and the Campi Flegrei Caldera and Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands. Neither area is under any government travel warning, but both see regular tremors, ash, or gas emissions that can disrupt trains and flights with little notice.
The US and Canadian governments currently hold Italy at their second-lowest advisory level because of a general terrorism threat shared across Europe, not a specific plot against Italy. The UK, Germany, and Australia all describe day-to-day safety in Italy as good, with theft, not violence, as the main everyday concern for visitors.
Five things to plan around
- Pickpocketing and bag-snatching. This is the risk that actually affects visitors: crowded sights, packed trains and metros, and thieves on scooters who grab bags from pedestrians in cities such as Naples, Rome, and Milan.
- The terrorism advisories reflect Europe generally, not Italy specifically. The US and Canadian governments both cite terrorism for their caution-level ratings, but neither points to a specific, credible plot against Italy.
- Volcanoes are monitored, not evacuated. Naples and the Campi Flegrei Caldera has seen a run of earthquakes through 2026, and Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands erupts regularly, but both stay open to visitors under normal conditions. Check for advisories if you are travelling through Naples or Catania during a period of heightened activity.
- Ticks are a real but localized risk. Tick-borne encephalitis is endemic in the North-East Alpine Tick-Borne Encephalitis Zone, so cover up and check for ticks if you hike there between spring and autumn.
- Mosquito-borne disease is a small but growing concern. Local chikungunya and dengue outbreaks have hit northern and central Italy in recent summers, spread by the same day-biting mosquito found across southern Europe. Use repellent, especially after rain.
Personal Security & Public Safety
Crime, unrest, and the public-order risks that shape day-to-day safety.
Traveler Situations & Contexts
How risk shifts for solo travelers, nighttime transit, and public transport.
At night
Italian city centres are generally calm after dark, and evening dining and walking is a normal part of Italian life. The main risk is the same as during the day: stay alert for pickpockets and bag-snatchers around nightlife areas, train stations, and on late trains and metros.
Solo travel
Italy is straightforward and safe for solo travellers. Trains, buses, and taxis are reliable, tourist infrastructure is extensive, and English is widely understood in tourist areas.
Solo woman travel
Most solo women travellers report feeling comfortable in Italy, but Canada's government specifically flags reports of sexual assault against foreign women, so use the same precautions you would in any major city: book reputable transport, keep an eye on your drink in bars and clubs, and trust your instincts if a situation feels wrong.
Tourist areas
The Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Uffizi, the Vatican, and other major sights draw large crowds, and with them, pickpockets, fake-petition and bracelet scams, unofficial 'guides', and restaurants that overcharge tourists. Keep bags zipped and in front of you, agree prices before you order, and use official ticket lines rather than street touts.
Big cities
In Naples, Rome, and Milan, thieves on scooters snatch bags and phones from pedestrians and people at outdoor tables, particularly along narrow, crowded streets. Wear cross-body bags on the side away from the road, and keep your phone off the table.
Public transport
Pickpocketing is a known problem on crowded trains, metros, and the Circumvesuviana line connecting Naples to Pompeii and Sorrento, as well as at busy central stations. Keep valuables in a front pocket or zipped bag, not a back pocket or open tote.
Remote and mountain areas
The Alps, Apennines, and Dolomites offer excellent hiking, but weather changes fast at altitude and avalanche risk is real in winter and spring. Check the forecast and the European Avalanche Warning Service before you set out, carry a map, compass, or GPS, go with a qualified guide on graded routes, and call 112 if you get into trouble.
Ratings for these appear once you pick a situational context in the sidebar.
Environmental & Natural Hazards
Weather extremes, seismic activity, and natural disaster exposure.
Earthquakes and volcanoes
Italy sits on an active seismic belt running down the Apennines, and minor tremors are common; occasional larger, damaging earthquakes have struck central Italy in recent decades. The country also hosts several of Europe's most active volcanic systems. See Naples and the Campi Flegrei Caldera and Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands for the two areas where this is a live, monitored concern rather than background risk.
Flooding
Heavy autumn and winter rain brings flooding and landslides to parts of northern and central Italy most years, and Venice regularly experiences tidal flooding known as acqua alta, which can close St Mark's Square and surrounding streets for hours. Check local conditions if you are travelling in the wetter months.
Wildfires and heat
Summer brings a genuine wildfire risk across much of the country, particularly in Sicily, Calabria, and Sardinia, along with heatwaves that can push temperatures to around 40 degrees Celsius. Carry water, plan outdoor activity for the cooler parts of the day, and follow local authority guidance if a fire is reported near you.
Named Regional Exceptions
Specific geographic areas where risks significantly deviate from the national baseline (3 active).
Mount Etna, on Sicily's east coast, is the most active volcano in Europe and erupts on a regular basis, sending up ash and gas that can disrupt flights at nearby Catania airport. If you are flying via Catania during a period of heightened activity, check with your airline before you travel. Guided excursions onto Etna's lower slopes run throughout the year and are called off when conditions require it.
The Aeolian Islands north of Sicily add Stromboli, in a near-constant state of mild eruption, and Vulcano. Both require a licensed guide for any summit approach. Lava flow and sudden explosive activity are the main hazards; follow your guide's instructions and any exclusion zone in force.
Naples sits next to two of Italy's most closely watched volcanic systems: Mount Vesuvius, dormant since 1944 but still capable of a major eruption, and the Campi Flegrei caldera immediately to its west, under the town of Pozzuoli. Campi Flegrei has been slowly rising and shaking for years in a process called bradyseism, and 2026 brought a marked increase in earthquake swarms, including a magnitude 4.7 tremor on 31 July, the strongest the wider Naples area had felt in decades. It injured a number of people and briefly shut down local rail lines and the port of Pozzuoli.
None of this has triggered a government advisory against visiting Naples or the surrounding area, and the city functions normally day to day. Italian civil protection authorities monitor the caldera continuously. If you are staying in Naples or Pozzuoli, follow local news and know that a sudden jolt is a real possibility rather than a remote one.
Tick-borne encephalitis is endemic in the forests and alpine meadows of Trentino-Alto Adige (South Tyrol), the Belluno Dolomites in Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Germany's public health institute tracks these three areas as Italy's main disease foci, and dozens of cases, occasionally fatal, are confirmed here most years, mainly between spring and autumn when ticks are active.
If you are hiking, cycling, or camping in this part of the Alps and Dolomites during tick season, cover your arms and legs, use a tick repellent, and check your skin daily. The vaccine is worth considering if you will spend extended time outdoors here. Elsewhere in Italy the disease is not a practical concern.
Health, Disease & Entry Requirements
Strict tripartite separation: endemic disease threats, recommended travel vaccines, and legally mandatory entry certificates.
Italy's healthcare system is excellent by international standards, and the disease risks you actually face here are modest compared with much of the world.
Mosquito-borne disease
Italy has no malaria and no history of Zika transmission, but the Asian tiger mosquito, active by day and especially after rain, has driven a small but growing pattern of local chikungunya and dengue outbreaks in recent years. In 2025, Italy recorded several hundred locally acquired chikungunya cases, concentrated in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto with a smaller cluster in Tuscany. A larger dengue outbreak hit the Marche region on the Adriatic coast in 2024. These outbreaks are seasonal, typically July to October, and standard mosquito-bite precautions apply: repellent, covering up at dawn and dusk, and clearing standing water if you are staying somewhere for an extended period.
Tick-borne encephalitis
See North-East Alpine Tick-Borne Encephalitis Zone for the areas where this matters. Outside that part of the north-east, it is not a practical concern.
Rabies
Italy has been free of rabies in dogs since the late 1990s, with only an isolated 2026 case traced to a dog illegally brought in from Morocco. You are very unlikely to encounter a rabid animal, but a small residual risk remains from bats and any illegally imported animal, so do not handle wildlife or stray dogs.
Food, water, and routine illness
Tap water is safe to drink almost everywhere and food hygiene standards are high. Hepatitis A is still a routine recommendation for most travellers as a general precaution, particularly if you will eat outside major tourist restaurants or visit smaller towns. Typhoid is worth considering only for unusual circumstances, such as an extended stay with limited access to safe food and water.
Measles
Health authorities have flagged rising measles cases worldwide, so make sure your MMR vaccination is current before you travel, regardless of your destination.
Vaccination advice and legal entry rules are separate things.
Required to enter
Italy has no vaccination requirement for entry, whatever country you are arriving from. There is no yellow fever transmission here and no certificate rule.
Recommended for most travellers
Hepatitis A, alongside your routine vaccinations: measles-mumps-rubella (particularly important given the current global rise in measles), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, polio, and seasonal flu.
Worth considering, depending on the trip
Tick-borne encephalitis vaccination if you will spend extended time hiking, cycling, or camping in the North-East Alpine Tick-Borne Encephalitis Zone between spring and autumn. It is a multi-dose course, so start it well before you travel. Typhoid vaccination and rabies pre-exposure vaccination are only worth considering for unusual circumstances, such as extended rural stays or occupational animal contact; neither is a standard recommendation for a normal visit to Italy.
Endemic Disease Risks
Vector-borne and water-borne pathogens present in territory.
Recommended Vaccinations
Advised medical prophylaxis for general travelers.
Worth considering, depending on your trip.
Mandatory Entry Regulations
Legally enforced entry documentation required at border control.
How the government advisories compare
How the major government advisories compare, and where they genuinely disagree rather than just draw the boundary differently.
The five governments broadly agree that Italy is a safe destination with a low overall crime rate, and none currently advises against travel to any part of the country. Where they differ is emphasis and headline wording.
The US State Department and Global Affairs Canada both cite terrorism as the specific reason for their caution-level advisories, in each case describing a general European threat rather than a specific plot against Italy. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Germany's Auswärtiges Amt use softer language, noting that attacks 'cannot be ruled out' without raising their overall guidance. Australia's Smartraveller keeps Italy at its lowest advice level, 'exercise normal safety precautions,' the most relaxed rating of the five.
All five sources agree closely on the practical, everyday risk: petty theft, especially pickpocketing and bag-snatching in crowded tourist areas and on public transport. Germany's Auswärtiges Amt and Canada both specifically name organized, scooter-based bag theft in cities including Naples, Rome, and Milan. This is a case of shared substance with different headline framing, not a real disagreement about how safe Italy is.
Sources
Official advisories and health surveillance bodies consulted for this brief.
- Government of Canada Travel Advice and Advisories Global Affairs Canada
- UK FCDO travel advice Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Smartraveller Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Auswärtiges Amt Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise Auswärtiges Amt (German Federal Foreign Office)
- U.S. State Department travel advisories U.S. Department of State
- WHO International travel and health World Health Organization
- CDC Travelers' Health U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Robert Koch-Institut
Last reviewed: Sep 11, 2026
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