Tipping in Italy

 In Italy, and much of Europe, tipping has been historically modest or even nonexistent.

The service industry workers generally receive fair wages, and a tip is seen as a gesture of appreciation rather than an obligation. In most cases, tipping remains optional, with the amount left entirely up to the customer.

With more tourists visiting Italy each year and Italian hospitality increasingly blending with international practices, leaving a tip is now becoming more familiar in major Italian cities, particularly in popular tourist areas.  However sometimes it can get confusing, especially in the restaurants.

1. Restaurants

• ·       A coperto in the bill, or cover charge, is common. This charge, typically around 2-3 €, covers the setup at the table, including the tablecloth, napkins, bread, and other basic services.
•  Tipping Some restaurants also include a servizio (service charge) in the bill of 10-15%, particularly in high-end dining spots, which generally means that additional tipping is not expected.  So, if there is no service charge and you like the outing, a tip would express your appreciation.
• ·Cash tips: It’s customary to leave the tip in cash, even if you pay the bill by card, since there is no line for a tip on the credit card slip.

 

2. Bars/Cafes

• Coffee or drinks: Tipping is not typically expected in casual settings, like a coffee bar or a quick espresso. However, if you're sitting at a table or having a meal, leaving small change (around €1 or 2) is appreciated.
• Barista tips: At a café, many customers leave the change or a few coins on the counter as a tip, but it's not mandatory. The only case in which the tip is sometimes given in advance: ten or twenty cents are placed on the counter, in plain sight for the person preparing the coffee or cappuccino. In this case the function is preventive, to encourage the preparation of the best possible drink.

3. Hotels

• Bellhops/Porters: For bellhops or porters, a tip of €1-€2 per bag is appreciated.
• Housekeeping: Tipping housekeepers is not common but can be done for exceptional service. A tip of €1-€2 per night is a good amount, left in an envelope or placed on the bed.
• Concierge: If the concierge provides a special service, such as securing a reservation or helping with tickets, a tip is appreciated.
• Doormen: If a doorman assists with hailing a taxi or providing other services, you might tip €1-€2.

4.  Taxis

·       It is not mandatory to leave a tip for the taxi driver, but it is common practice to round up the amount of the ride in favor of the taxi driver. For example, if the ride costs 9.50 euros, you can leave 10 euros, as a gesture of courtesy.  For particularly friendly or helpful service (for example, for a very comfortable taxi or a special route), a tip of 1-2 euros is acceptable.

5. Tours and Tourist Guides

·       If you are taking an organized group tour, a tip of 5 -10€ is common and appreciated. For private guides or drivers, a tip of 10-20 euros is typical.

6. Parking attendants (Valet)

·       If a valet takes care of parking your car for you, a tip of 1-2 euros is usually sufficient. In some touristy or upscale areas, the tip may be higher (3-5 euros).

7. Hairdressers/Barbers

Tipping hairdressers or barbers is not expected, but if you’re particularly happy with the service, a small tip of is appreciated.

8. Beach Resorts

·      Not typical, but if the staff at a beach resort provides good service (such as bringing drinks or setting up umbrellas or sun loungers), a tip of 1-2 euros for each service received is generally appreciated.

Under the Trevi Fountain

Another underground wonder in Rome

The Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) is probably the most famous fountain in Rome.  Its name comes from the “tre vie” (three streets) that intersect here. The films Three Coins in the Fountain and La Dolce Vita have popularized it on an international scale.

Finished on a design in the late Baroque style of the Roman architect Nicola Salvi in 1762, the work is a tribute to water. The composition is dominated by an imposing Neptune on a cart formed by an enormous shell, pulled by two horses. The triton on the left tries to control his agitated horse which symbolizes the stormy ocean, while the one on the right blows through a shell while guiding his horse easily, representing calm waters. The sense of movement and enormity is amplified by the small square that the structure occupies.

The Trevi Fountain

The custom of throwing a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, to assure your return to Rome, is celebrated and photographed at all hours of the day and night by people from all over the world

The visit to the basement of the Trevi Fountain is a less known but at the same time incredibly suggestive tourist route. It is well known that everywhere in Rome you can find ancient domus, aqueducts and archaeological finds. The site under the Trevi Fountain is a prominent example of this and deserves to be visited.

Buildings under the fountain

 The Vicus Caprarius, “the city of water”

The term “City of Water”, used commonly to define the archaeological area of Vicus Caprarius beneath the Trevi Fountain is due to the element that without doubt characterizes the area and the site. It was discovered between 1999 and 2001 during the renovation of the former Trevi Cinema.

Thanks to the excavations carried out together with the superintendence of the archaeological heritage of Rome, a building complex of the imperial age was brought to light, including canals that carried water from the Acqua Virgo to the luxurious domus of the area, in which water still flows from the Lucullan countryside at a depth of 9 meters below the level of the road.

The antiquarium

To frame the archaeological site there is the antiquarium, that is the exhibition of all the finds that have been found over the years during the excavations. There are over 800 coins dating back to between the 4th and 5th centuries AD, as well as everyday objects, including terra-cotta figurines, African pottery, and mosaic tiles. 

Pottery found in the area, with coins

What makes this hidden gem particularly special, however, is the water that runs through it. At Vicus Caprarius, visitors will find pools that still fill with water, thanks to the Aqua Virgo, one of the 11 aqueducts of ancient Rome. This aqueduct is also the one that feeds into the Trevi Fountain, meaning the water you see in Vicus Caprarius will eventually make its way to the fountain for tourists to throw their coins in.

The excavations brought to light an imposing distribution tank, (the castellum aquae) and the water, which filters through the ancient masonry of the Archaeological area, continues to supply the pipes in lead and the pools of a luxurious residence.

The wall structures found, characterized by a brick facing and conserved until a height of about eight meters, are attributed to an insula, a housing block divided into several independent units that were transformed, in the middle of the fourth century, into a stately domus.

 

Tickets for this archaeological site are only four euros (about $4.08 USD). For more information on how to visit, check out the official website. There are numerous companies that provide tours, but you can also go on your own.

Visiting Europe? What to know about ETIAS

What to know about Schengen zone, Europe’s ‘border-free’ travel system and ETIAS

What is the Schengen travel zone?

Often referred to as the “crown jewel” of European integration policies, the Schengen zone is the European Union’s passport-free travel space. It was first established in 1985 with the abolition of passport controls and the creation of a shared visa policy in Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. With the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania, it encompasses 29 countries without internal border controls. That means travelers, whether international tourists or European residents, can move freely between member states without having to worry about extra visas, immigration control or mandatory ID checks.

With the recent addition of Romania and Bulgaria, and the addition of Croatia last year, the Schengen area includes every country in the E.U. except Ireland and Cyprus. Four non-E.U. countries are also included: Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

What are the travel benefits of Schengen countries?

International travelers who are visa-exempt or who have obtained a Schengen visa are free to move between member countries as tourists for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. This means that someone who is authorized to visit Romania, for example, is then also able to visit Croatia and France without another passport check.

The Schengen zone helps save travelers time and money, because there are no extra visas or passport checks when they travel between member countries.

What do Americans need to enter Schengen countries?

Americans can enter the Schengen zone with a valid U.S. passport for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Longer stays, such as those for school or work, require specific visas from the country where you plan to spend most of your time.

While additional travel between Schengen countries would not usually require additional passport checks, the U.S. State Department recommends that travelers keep their passport with them while traveling, in case of temporary border control changes.

Although a visa is not currently required for U.S. citizens to visit Schengen countries, it’s going to change a little bit in 2025.

Travelers from the United States and other “visa-exempt” countries to Europe may soon have to apply to enter through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The application would be required of any traveler planning a short-term stay or combination of stays (up to 90 days within a 180-day period), and would be filled out online at least a month before the desired travel date. The application will cost travelers 7 euros, or roughly $8, and will last three years.

While the E.U. has not yet announced a specific date when ETIAS verification will be implemented, the latest timeline projects the program will start in mid-2025.

Are there any limits to travel in the Schengen zone?

While the Schengen zone was created to be a space free of internal border controls, some countries now implement temporary border controls, largely with the purpose of controlling and limiting migration from non-European countries. Recently, that has included Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, France and others.

These temporary border controls mean travelers may be stopped and asked to show identity documents, such as a passport.

Just as there are no permanent restrictions for sea or air travel between Schengen countries, there are also no restrictions for land travel among the majority of Schengen countries. This means that travelers driving or taking a train from Italy to France, for example, would not have to show their passports or stop at an immigration checkpoint.

The only exceptions to this rule are Romania and Bulgaria. Though this restriction means the countries don’t yet enjoy the full benefits of being Schengen and E.U. members, leaders of both countries expect to expand Schengen entry to land borders sometime this year.

Colossus of Constantine recreated

Constantine’s colossal statue on display on the Campidoglio

In the fourth century AD, the Roman emperor Constantine commissioned a nearly 43-foot-tall statue of himself for his basilica in the Roman Forum. After his victory over Maxentius in 312 AD, believing that his success was due to the Christian God, Constantine stopped the persecution against the Christians and the following year, with his Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity, he allowed them to practice their religion openly. He also had the first church of Saint Peter’s built in Rome, moved the capital to Byzantium, now Turkey, and called it Constantinople, today Istanbul.

Today, the emperor’s legacy remains, but the statue has crumbled. All that survives are ten incomplete marble fragments of his head, hands and other body parts. The head and most of the other fragments of the colossal statue were discovered in 1486, in the ruins of a building not far from the Colosseum, and relocated to the Palazzo dei Conservatori by Michelangelo when he was working on the Capitoline piazza in 1536–1546. A tenth fragment was found in 1951. Nine of those ancient fragments — including a monumental head, feet and hand — are permanently on show on the courtyard of the Capitoline Museum.

Parts of the original statue in the courtyard of the museum

 

The original colossus was partly marble for the head, chest and limbs while the hidden structural elements were wood, covered with draped clothing made of bronze. Constantine was shown seated in the style of the more ancient statue of Jupiter in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline. It may have even been reworked from that statue of Jupiter.  After the Fall of Rome, the statue was looted for the gilded bronze draped around the body and broken up.

It is now possible, with the latest technological advancements, to produce a replica. A team from the Madrid-based digital preservation nonprofit Factum Foundation spent three days using photogrammetry, a 3D scan with a camera, to record the fragments in the Capitoline courtyard. Over the course of several months, the high-resolution data became 3D prints, which were used to cast replicas, made of acrylic resin and marble powder. Those were then integrated with other body parts — the ones Constantine was missing — that were constructed after historical research and discussions with curators and experts. A statue of the emperor Claudius as the god Jupiter, now at the ancient Roman altar known as the Ara Pacis, was used as a model for the pose and draping, which was originally in bronze. 

The recreated statue

 

The full-sized reconstruction of the colossal statue of Constantine that once stood in the Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum has gone on display in the garden of the Villa Caffarelli Garden, just behind the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill where the surviving fragments of the original statue are exhibited in the entrance courtyard.

The finished reconstruction is more than 40 feet high. The statue will remain in the Capitoline garden until at least the end of 2025, officials said. Where it will go afterward, and whether it will withstand the ravages of time better than its fractured original, remain open questions.