Lesson Transcript

Hello everyone, welcome back to ItalianPod101.com.
My name is Desy, mi chiamo Desy, mi chiamo Desy,
and in this video we're going to address a question that is often asked.
Is Italy safe?
L'Italia è sicura?
Sicuro is the word for safe, also sure actually.
Italy is generally considered a safe destination,
but of course you have to be aware of your surroundings and some issues.
First of all, let's address the one that is mostly discussed, pickpocketing.
Borseggiamenti.
People that do pickpocketing are called borseggiatori or borseggiatrici, if they're female.
Of course this issue is spread in especially in big cities, right, like in touristic spots,
so like Venice or Florence, Rome too.
It's basically where people gather, in fact it's especially in markets and on transportation.
I get people asking if it's safe to travel in Italy with gold on you and I'm like,
no one is gonna cut your finger to get your ring, not anymore, no I'm kidding.
So yeah, that's safe, but again if I can suggest you something that's to be aware of where you are,
that would be an advice for every country actually in the world.
So use bags that have a zip so that you can properly close them.
Also be aware of backpacks too, because I heard some people
whose backpack was cut at the bottom so they didn't even notice and they could just like
take things from the inside without having to open it, so keep it in the front if you can.
Also that's good manners on public transportation, so two birds with a stone.
Keep your bags close to you and if you cannot, like if you're on a train for example,
keep an eye on them, especially if you wanna like relax and sleep on the train,
maybe you want to have them, like you know maybe your arm wrapped inside while you sleep
or just lean on them, just you know to be safe.
And in general I would say get a bit suspicious when people are too close to you,
especially after the pandemic, you have to leave like one step on escalators or
anyway you don't really have people on you, so if that happens maybe check your belongings.
Also for men I know this is hard to do, but maybe you want to have your wallet in front
and not behind, so it's not easy to take it, right?
But in general I would say that it's not an extreme situation, so you can also relax a bit.
You may also want though to be aware of scams, that's truffe, truffe.
In some cities I've heard reports of fake guides or like unlicensed taxi drivers
and they're gonna pretend that like the post, so the POS, the one where you pay by card,
is not available because there's no internet connection and such,
and they just ask you for cash, so that probably is a hint that gives a way that may not be proper.
Also always ask for your receipt, which is called scontrino or ricevuta,
just say, posso avere lo scontrino? Can I have the receipt?
Can I have la ricevuta? Posso avere la ricevuta?
Because technically you're also liable for not asking for that, because the police,
financial police, could ask you too when you exit a shop,
where's the receipt and why didn't you ask for it?
So you can also be liable for that, not only the shop.
So yeah, ask for that, because otherwise it's like they're not paying taxes on what you just paid.
When buying tickets or again tours, try to book online if you manage so you don't have surprises,
as in you don't have the people standing there trying to sell you stuff and you don't know if
it's proper or not. Quick tip here, also ask for the menu in Italian at restaurants, because sometimes
they may have different prices, you know, just in case. So you can also use it as an excuse to be
learning Italian, right? You can be like, oh no, il menu in italiano, please, il menu in italiano,
per favore, and just say that you're learning Italian too, if they ask why, even though they
shouldn't. So you can also check that prices are correct. Also check for coperto, which is service
charge. It shouldn't be more than some euros, so just check before so that when you see the receipt
you can be like, what is this? Also, some people may stop you down the street just to ask you simple
questions, apparently, that are just a way to stop you and then ask you to buy stuff. Even people may
just put that on your bracelets, on your wrist and then ask you for money or be like, which is
the last book that you've read? And then they try to sell you stuff or do you want a postcard?
Stuff like that. Just answer no grazie, no thank you. No grazie will save you most of times and
you're still polite. Also, don't get tricked. Some people may say that it's for a charity,
you should ask for a badge or anyway something like official and they should have a stall,
if anything, not just like being walking down the street, right? So don't be scammed.
Also, at train ticket machines I've heard of people being helped by someone and then being
asked money for that help. Of course, I'm not saying like it's a businessman or a businesswoman
that is behind you and just really want to be done quickly, so they're just helping you because they
want to go away, no? But like people stalling there and maybe being around for a bit, like
checking you from afar and then coming close, those people, no, just say I'll do that myself
or you can always say no no moneta, I don't have coins, no no moneta. Also, you may know it already
but a lot of people are selling fake brand objects, not even at the market, they just
put down their things and they're like here you go. That happens also at night, actually especially
at night, in big cities like Naples or like where they roam to or where there is the seaside,
you know, where you do the walk there too. They may not be licensed and even if they are,
things may not be really branded and with May I say they probably aren't. It's up to you,
just be aware of that. Lastly about scams, if you do rent a car, please don't get out of the car
like without really thinking about it. What I mean is that there have been reports of people
pretending they have an emergency and stopping cars to ask for help and then robbing them and
also like if you get something on your window like a fruit or even an egg and you may want to get out
to have that cleaned, don't do that because there may be people ambushed somewhere. I mean,
that's just like the worst case scenario of course but you know, just in case again. Also,
if you see a flat tire when you go back to the car, maybe in an isolated space, let's say at the
parking lot, don't leave your bags inside and then check what happens, keep your belongings to you
because it may be possible that someone is waiting for you to put your things inside the car and then
will just come running, grab that and run away and they were responsible for your flat tire.
So yeah, those kind of things are stories that we hear a lot so I just want you to be,
I don't want to say prepared because it's not like it happens every day, but just have that
in the back of your mind and always keep things close to you. If anything happens though, you want
to be able to say Aiuto!, Aiuto!, many vowels here, Aiuto!, help or Al ladro!, Al ladro!, so that's a thief,
ladro is thief. If something like that happens, you have to call polizia or carabinieri and you
can just dial 112, 112 also, which is the general number for emergencies in Europe, right? And that
was about bad people, but now let's talk about bad weather conditions or anyway like natural disasters.
They're not super frequent in Italy, but still they may happen, in fact in particular in the
north you may have alluvioni, alluvioni, floods like when it rains a lot, together with some
tempesta di ghiaccio, ghiaccio is ice and tempesta is storm, so grandine, hail, grandine, it's hailing,
sta grandinando. Around the center of Italy you may have some episodes of terremoti,
terremoti, earthquakes, terra, earthquakes, moto movement and that may lead to frane, frane,
frane, so when rocks fall down the mountain. While in the south, especially in islands like Sicily
with Mount Etna or in Campania next to Naples with Mount Vesuvio, you may have a volcano erupting,
so eruzione vulcanica, eruzione vulcanica and sometimes if it's summer and it's very dry,
incendi, incendi, fires, incendi. Anyway we also have the government emergency system that sends
a message to people in that area, so you should get it anyway even though you don't have an
Italian number. It goes by geographic areas, so you should be inside that range as long as you're
there and it's written in both Italian and English, so that's something good. Another point that is
worth mentioning is health conditions in general. At the pharmacy, farmacia, you can also get some
medicines without prescriptions. They will be glad to help with medicinali da banco,
da banco, so counter medicines, meaning that you don't need prescriptions. You can just say cerco,
I'm looking for, qualcosa per, I'm looking for something for, febbre, fever, a cold, raffreddore
or mal di, pain, somewhere, mal di schiena, back pain or mal di gola, throat ache. If you feel like
you have a sanitary emergency, then you can call 118-118-118, l'ambulanza, the ambulance.
Also in Italy facilities are free, so if you do have an emergency, it doesn't matter if you're
an Italian citizen or not, they will treat you. So, rest assured, but that being said,
it's always better to travel with a proper insurance. All these tips and things I talked
about may even be too much, like, exaggerating, but it's just to put you all at ease, it's better
to be prepared for everything. I hope this video was helpful, please let me know in the comments
if you have some more concerns and just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy coming to Italy. Remember that you
can sign up for a free lifetime account on italianpod101.com and learn Italian in the
fastest, easiest and most fun way possible. I'll see you soon, ci vediamo presto. Bye bye,
thanks for watching.

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