Dial 112 for any emergency in Italy: police, ambulance or fire. It is free from any phone, and the operator can handle English. Beyond that single number, Italy is a very safe country to visit. Violent crime against tourists is rare, the healthcare system is excellent, and help is genuinely easy to summon. What trips visitors up is not danger but unfamiliarity: which of the several police forces to call, how the pharmacy system works, and the quiet paperwork traps like ZTL driving fines. Ten minutes with this guide, and you will know exactly what to do in the situations that actually happen.
The one number to remember: 112
Dial 112 for any emergency, anywhere in Italy: police, ambulance or fire. It is the single European emergency number, free from any mobile phone, and it works even without a SIM card or signal from your own carrier. Operators can handle English, either directly or through interpreter support. Give your location first, then the problem, and stay on the line.
The classic national numbers still function and Italians still use them: 113 for the state police (Polizia di Stato), 118 for medical emergencies and ambulances, 115 for the fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco). You do not need to memorize them; 112 routes to all of the same services.
What to say when they answer
Panic makes people start with the story. The operator needs the where first, so work through this order:
- Where you are: town, street and number, or the nearest landmark, station, hotel or trail marker. If you cannot say it, say what you can see.
- What has happened: one sentence, such as “my friend has collapsed” or “a car has hit a scooter”.
- How many people are involved and whether anyone is not breathing, bleeding heavily or trapped.
- Your phone number and your name, then stay on the line until the operator ends the call.
Speak slowly and use plain English. If the operator switches language or passes you on, that is normal routing, not a dropped call. Do not hang up and redial unless the line cuts out.
When to call, and when not to
Call 112 when there is a danger to life, a crime in progress, a fire or a serious accident. For a lost wallet, a minor ailment or advice about a stomach bug, use the options further down this page instead. Keeping 112 free for real emergencies is a courtesy, and the right service will also reach you faster.
The numbers at a glance
| Number | Service | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 112 | All emergencies (EU-wide) | Any urgent situation, one number for everything |
| 113 | State police | Crime in progress, urgent police matters |
| 118 | Medical emergency | Ambulance, serious injury or illness |
| 115 | Fire brigade | Fire, gas leaks, people trapped |
| 1530 | Coast guard | Emergencies at sea or on beaches |
| 803 116 | ACI road assistance | Vehicle breakdown (paid service) |
| 116 117 | Non-urgent medical line | Out-of-hours doctor advice in many regions |
Save 112 and your travel insurer’s 24-hour assistance line in your phone before you fly, plus the address of your country’s embassy in Rome and the nearest consulate to where you are staying. Screenshot the table above too, so it is there if you have no data.
Which police force do I deal with?
Italy has several police forces, which confuses visitors, but you rarely need to choose. For an emergency, 112 sends the right one. For reporting a theft afterwards, either of the two main forces will take your statement.
- Polizia di Stato (state police): the civilian national force, in blue and white cars, with stations in most towns and at big railway stations.
- Carabinieri: a national force with military status, in dark blue cars with a red stripe, with a small station in many villages where there is no Polizia office.
- Polizia Locale (municipal police): they handle traffic, parking and local rules, and they are the people who stand at junctions in city centres.
If you are pickpocketed in a small town, walk into whichever station is nearest. Do not spend an afternoon hunting for the “correct” one.
Doctors, hospitals and the mighty farmacia
The emergency room
For anything urgent, the pronto soccorso (emergency room) of any public hospital treats everyone, and genuinely urgent care is provided regardless of nationality; visitors from outside the EU may be billed afterwards, which is where travel insurance earns its keep. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens should carry their EHIC, and UK residents their GHIC or UK EHIC, for state care. Our guide to travel insurance for Italy covers the limits and the exclusions worth reading before you buy.
Expect triage: cases are seen by urgency rather than arrival time, so a twisted ankle may wait while more serious patients go first. Bring your passport, your insurance details and a list of any medicines you take. If you can, ring your insurer’s assistance line early, because they may direct you to a particular hospital or need to approve certain treatment.
The pharmacy
For everything short of an emergency, start at the farmacia, marked everywhere by a glowing green cross. Italian pharmacists are highly trained, dispense many medications over the counter that require prescriptions elsewhere, and will happily advise on a fever, an upset stomach or the blisters your cobblestone mileage earned you. At night and on Sundays, a rotating farmacia di turno stays open in every district; the current list is posted on every pharmacy door and window.
Seeing a doctor for something that is not an emergency
If a pharmacist suggests you need a doctor but it is not urgent, ask your hotel to point you to a local doctor, or try the non-urgent line 116 117, which gives out-of-hours medical advice in many regions. Confirm locally what is available where you are staying. Keep every receipt and report for your insurance claim.
Pickpockets: the one crime to actually plan for
The realistic risk in Italy is not violence but pickpocketing in crowded tourist spaces: busy metro cars and buses (Rome’s route 64 to the Vatican is infamous), train stations like Termini and Milano Centrale, and the scrums around the Trevi Fountain, the Duomo and Venice’s vaporetti. The craft is world-class and you will feel nothing.
Prevention
Prevention is boring and effective: bags zipped and worn in front in crowds, phone never in a back pocket, nothing valuable in an outer backpack pouch, and only a day’s cash on you. On trains, keep your daypack at your feet or in sight, not in the luggage rack by the doors. Boarding and leaving a packed carriage is the moment to be most alert, because that is when people bump and crowd you.
If it happens
- Freeze your cards in your banking apps within minutes.
- Report the theft at any Carabinieri or Polizia station and ask for the denuncia, the written report. You will need it for insurance claims and for replacing a stolen passport.
- If your passport is gone, contact your embassy or consulate; they issue emergency travel documents quickly and deal with this every day.
- Tell your insurer, and keep a photo of your passport page and policy number somewhere separate from your wallet.
Drivers: the fine that arrives by mail
The most common “incident” for visitors in Italy involves no criminals at all. Nearly every historic city center is a ZTL (zona a traffico limitato): a camera-enforced restricted zone where only permit holders may drive. Enter one in a rental car, even briefly, even following your GPS to the hotel, and a fine starting at roughly 80 EUR arrives months later through your rental company, with their admin fee on top. Several days or several towns mean several fines.
The defense is simple: never drive toward a historic center. Park in the signed lots outside the walls and walk or ride in. If your hotel sits inside a ZTL, call ahead; hotels can often register your plate for a temporary permit. Speed cameras (autovelox) are also common on highways, and headlights are required on main roads even in daylight.
One document to arrange before you fly: an International Driving Permit. Italy expects drivers on non-EU licences to carry one together with their own licence, and rental companies enforce it, refusing the car to US, Australian, Canadian and South African licence holders who arrive without. It is a cheap translation booklet from your national motoring organisation or post office, and you cannot buy one after you land. EU licences need nothing extra.
The everyday safety picture
Beyond the above, Italy asks little of you. Tap water is safe everywhere (Rome’s nasoni fountains are a free gift in summer), food safety standards are high, and walking cities at night in normal tourist areas is fine, as it is in Rome and the other big centers. Classic street scams to brush off: the “free” bracelet tied to your wrist, the rose pressed into your hand, petitions with a donation demand, and unmetered taxis. A firm “no, grazie” and forward motion solves all of them. For broader planning context, our first time in Italy guide covers the practical groundwork.
On the coast
The coast is the part of Italy where these pages get used most, because cliff paths, ferries and the coast road all carry more risk than a city break does. For trouble at sea or on a beach, 1530 reaches the coast guard, though 112 will still connect you. Our comparison of the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre covers what each involves.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Calling the embassy for an emergency. Embassies help with passports and serious welfare problems, not ambulances. Dial 112 first.
- Leaving a theft unreported. Without the denuncia, insurers and consulates have little to work with.
- Turning up at a hospital for a minor complaint. A pharmacist can usually solve it faster, and the pronto soccorso is for real emergencies.
- Trusting the sat nav near city centres. It will happily route you through a ZTL.
- Arriving without an International Driving Permit when your licence requires one.
The short version
Save 112: it covers police, ambulance and fire across Italy and works from any phone. Use the green-cross farmacia for minor ailments, the pronto soccorso for real emergencies, and travel insurance to make the bills someone else’s problem. Guard your pockets in crowds, get the denuncia if something is stolen, contact your embassy or consulate for a lost passport, and never, ever drive into a ZTL. Do that, and the odds are excellent that the only Italian numbers you will use are the ones on a menu.
Have you ever had to use a pharmacy or call for help abroad, and what would you have liked to know beforehand?
