Anyone Tried the ZTL Alert App for Smartphones??

I'm not sure why you would need an app as the ZTL's are clearly signed and hard to miss. You shouldn't be driving into any city centers so if you avoid those you won't have any issues.

Here are some articles that will help you identify them:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

http://accessitaly.com/post/Driving-in-Italy-part-8-e28094-Fines-Avoiding-long-distance-pen-pals-in-fancy-uniforms.aspx

http://italychronicles.com/speed-cameras-in-italy/

Donna

I'll be driving (picking up/dropping off the car on Via Del Sansovino in Florence) around parts of Tuscany (Siena, San Gimnagno, Volterra, Montalcino, Pienza, etc. in early October and was wondering if this might be useful.

The historical center of Florence is the place to watch out for. They are the ones that we consistently hear about sending out fines in the mail for large amounts of money, months after your trip.

I wonder how early the app sounds the warning. You don't need a lot of reaction time, but I'd consider it a back-up plan to reading the signs. I also found ZTLs well-marked in those towns and parking lots easy to find outside the trouble zone. Yes, I did take a wrong turn into the ZTL in Montalcino last year, but that was only because I was poking around in an area that was clearly going to become the ZTL around one corner or the next. You need coins to pay for parking in Montalcino.

This is a ZTL sign in Florence.

The sign is basically a white circle with a red border. It's the international road sign for 'no motor vehicles allowed'.

As you can see Florence also has a ZTL light, which is red when the ZTL is active and green when you can enter (at night). Florence also has the sign in English.

However most municipalities have no ZTL light, let alone signs in English.

Via del Sansovino is far from the Florence ZTL, so no worries there. Besides the cameras take a picture of your car only when you enter a ZTL, not when you exit.

However, most ancient towns have a ZTL in their historical center (including Siena and the other smaller towns you mentioned), therefore keep an eye for that round red and white circle.

bn,

That sort of thing may be practical for residents of Italy, but I'm not sure how practical it would be for tourists. It's likely the app is tracking your location in relation to the ZTL areas, and that means you'd need continuous access to cellular data (expensive!). Some GPS units may provide the same function, and those wouldn't require cellular data.