Carrying My Passport in Italy

DECRETO LEGISLATIVO 25 luglio 1998, n. 286
Testo unico delle disposizioni concernenti la disciplina dell'immigrazione e norme sulla condizione dello straniero.
Lo straniero che, a richiesta degli ufficiali e agenti di pubblica sicurezza, non ottempera, senza giustificato motivo, all'ordine di esibizione del passaporto o di altro documento di identificazione e del permesso di soggiorno o di altro documento attestante la regolare presenza nel territorio dello Stato e' punito con l'arresto fino ad un ann o e con l'ammenda fino ad euro 2.000

Translation:
The foreign national who, without a justifiable reason, at the request of officers and agents of law enforcement, fails to comply with the order of presentation of the passport or other identification document and residence permit or other document certifying the regular presence in the territory of the the State, is punished with the arrest up to a year and with a fine of up to 2,000 euros.

What happens in real life:

If you leave your passport at the hotel (which my wife and I always do) and a law enforcement officer asks to identify yourself, it will be sufficient for you to have a photocopy of your US passport and another government issued ID. You just have to explain that you are afraid to carry your passport with you because of the danger of theft.

If the officer has reason to believe that your documents are false, or you gave the wrong name, they can take you to a police station and detain you for up to 24 hours until you are properly identified (art. 11, d.l. 21.3.1978 n. 59)

As a practical rule of thumb for myself; wandering near the hotel for dinner or a drink, I usually do not have it; out all day on the town, I usually always carry it in my neck pouch; Travelling out of town, I always have it on me. I was much more lax about it in the past, but the increased incidence of violent events and resulting increased security have prompted me to be a bit more diligent, just not sure anymore when you might be asked for it.

UK Government advice (one up on US Government in that it does seem to have some advice on the subject....) agrees with Roberto and says you should carry a photocopy (nowadays home scan and print!) of the photo/data page of your passport if you don't want to take the real thing out. But only in the locality, not a hundred mile trip! Having a photocopy is always a good idea anyway in case you lose or damage the real thing.

While you are in the same city as your hotel, you can safely leave it at the hotel in the safe. Just have photocopy and your home driver's license.

No policeman or carabiniere will make a fuss if you are an American citizen. If you are a national of Afghanistan and carrying a driver's license from the Kandahar province written in Pashtun, and you look like this then it's a good idea to have proper documentation with you.

Just be nice and maybe apologetic to the police officer and don't act like an arrogant ugly American, because you are not the one carrying the gun and the badge, he is.

If you are traveling far outside of the city where you are staying (let's say on a day trip) and especially if you are driving (where you are more likely to be pulled over), then carry it with you.

The US government mentions the topic here: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go/schengen-fact-sheet.html.

And remember that while US citizens are not required to carry ID while walking around in the US, foreign nationals are, including permanent US residents.

Early in my travels around Europe I would always have my passport on me. Today, I carry a copy.

I did have an incident on the train leaving Cinque Terre. It was after departing Levanto station early in the morning and Carabinieri had boarded. They went down each car and questioned each tourist/traveler. Each person they came across, they'd request their passport and copy their information. They said they were searching for a bag thief who was described as being 'English-looking'...I'm not that pale and not entirely Caucasian but, whatever. They asked how my trip was going and continued on.

Arlyce,

Aside from the legal requirements which Roberto covered so well, I can tell you from personal experience that it's a very good idea to keep your Passport with you at all times, especially if you're a solo traveller. I find that carrying my Passport in a Money belt (inside a zip-lok bag to protect from perspiration) works well. While photocopies might suffice for routine checks, there are some circumstances where it's better to have the actual Passport with you.

I could have sworn that last time we visited Italy the hotels asked for our passports and kept them until we checked out - no? Maybe I dreamt that along the way

hotels do ask for your passport on check in, but they don't keep them

Thank you all so much. I will definitely use this information to make plans to keep myself and my passport safe!

Donna: While your hotel may have done that, it wasn't and isn't common. Italian hotels are required to register your passport details with the local authorities. In the "olden days," they would often hold your passport for a few hours or overnight, so the could do all the guests at once, often later in the night when it was slow. I didn't like this, so I would just tell them I needed it back in an hour or two after check-in, to change traveler's checks (I told you this was the olden days).

Nowadays, they just make a copy of your passport on their printer-scanner-copier, and hand it right back to you.

We have had instances where they've kept our passports for a short time, just long enough for us to get unpacked and freshened up. They've been ready within the hour when we've returned to fetch them before heading out.

I'm sure I've told this story on here before but it's worth retelling...

2005, I was in Rome. I'd bought advance tickets to a movie being shown in English that night to make sure I could get in. Movie was at 10pm and I had a few hours to kill so I decided to spend them at the nearby Trinity College Pub relaxing since I'd been out exploring all day. After several pints I was pretty tipsy and decided I'd better head out to the theater which was at the end of Via del Corso, near the Piazza del Popolo. If you're familiar with Rome, you know that Via del Corso is the popular street for people to walk at night so they close it to traffic and it gets pretty lively. I was carrying my camera, my phone and a small paper bag full of Popeners (bottle openers with the Pope's likeness on them, I buy them as gifts for friends and family), which I had stuffed in my front pocket. Halfway down Via del Corso I get stopped by two uniformed Caribinieri who asked me for my passport. I explained to them that it was in my hotel room but they did not like that so they made me follow them to a nearby checkpoint where there was a big Caribinieri van parked. I don't know if I somehow looked dangerous or what but 5 or 6 uniformed Carbinieri surrounded me and I'm freaking out. The base I work at is technically a Carbinieri base so I showed them my military ID and told them where I work but they just stood there. Suddenly a well dressed older man in a suit emerges from the van and comes over to me. I try explaining things to him too, he says "It's ok, it will just be a moment...tell me, what do you have in your pocket there?" I pull out the bag, it rips and Popeners go flying everywhere on the ground while the Carbinieri guys quickly take a step back, startled. The guy in the suit looks down at the ground, says "Ah! Il Papa! You can go sir, sorry to bother you and buona sera."

So if you're not going to carry your passport in Rome, you might want to carry a few Popeners just to be safe...