Sometimes they are blank, sometimes they actually say Zona Traffico Limitato on them. These signs are white circles with a red border. It stands for “Zona Traffico Limitato,” which translates as Limited Traffic Zone, but really means no vehicles allowed.

This might be because it’s a one-way street and traffic is coming the other way, or because it’s a pedestrian zone.Īn increasing number of Italian cities now have what are known as ZTL areas. Signs indicating that no vehicles are allowed past them are red circles with a white horizontal bar across the middle. In other words, don’t assume everyone is going to come to a complete stop at a stop sign.Ĭreative commons image by Flanker Do Not Enter If there’s no one coming, or no one close enough (by their assessment), they may just slow down and not stop completely. Italians approach stop signs a bit like they’re yield signs, or yellow flashing lights. Stop signs in Italy are just like stop signs in the United States and many other places – they even say “STOP” in English. Important Road Signs to Know in Italy Stop Brown signs point you toward historic or tourist attractions.ĭon’t miss my other articles in this series: Driving in Italy 101 and Italian Driving Laws & Rules of the Road Highway signs that are green are for the Autostrada, and indicate toll roads. There are some colors that have meaning, too. Rectangles or squares are informational signs. Circles mean something is forbidden, or an instruction that is compulsory.

(You can consult the Wikipedia page if you want the rest.)Īs overwhelming as that page is, it does a good job of breaking down Italy’s road signs into different shapes, and the shapes have meanings even before anything is printed on them. It’s a bit of an anxiety-inducing collection of colorful circles and squares, but I’m going to cover the main road signs you really need to know if you’re going to be driving in Italy.

I was immediately transported back to my 15th year, imagining how many times I would have flunked my driver’s permit test if I’d had to learn all of those signs. Now all you have to do is make sense of all the road signs in Italy.įor kicks and giggles, I looked at Wikipedia’s page on Italian road signs. You’ve got your rental car, you know what kind of fuel goes in it, and you’ve plotted a route for a road trip in Italy.

Traffic signs and meaning