Disabled parking in Italy with US placard

You will need to get a placard from an Italian doctor. This is a standard requirement for US citizens and contractors in Italy (and every other EU country I know of.) They do not recognize foreign plates.

I haven't tried it before, but my brain tells me that taxis should be able to go into at least CERTAIN ZTLs, right? That might be easier to deal with than figuring out a way to get INTO the ZTL and THEN find parking as well.....train station to hotel, and then private tours and transfers to smaller cities without the disability assistance at the train stations.....

The information you need is here

https://disabledmotoring.fia.com/country/italy/

ZTLs are enforced by cameras. Tickets are issued to all cars with license plates not registered in the "City White List". Each jurisdiction has a procedure to register a disabled person's car in the White List, however one needs the license plate number to do so. I presume that you won't have that until you pick up your rental car.

I don't know if the disabled status in the US would be honored by the local jurisdiction in Italy (possibly yes), but placing a placard on the dashboard would not be sufficient, because the ZTL cameras take a photo only of the license plate, hence the necessity to have the license plate number registered in the White List.

In any case the best option might be to have accommodations outside the ZTL (parking is also very scarce, even for disabled persons and many streets are off limits to all except pedestrians), and take a taxi or bus into the city when necessary from the accommodations to the sights. From what you write your husband appears to be able to get into a taxi or bus.

For example, in Florence there is a procedure for disabled people certified by other municipalities to register for temporary ZTL access; it is explained at https://www.serviziallastrada.it/servizi-al-cittadino/autorizzazioni-disabili/residenti-fuori-comune (in Italian, you can try to translate it with google). The thing is geared to Italians from other cities, but you could ask the email if it will work with a foreign certification. I am afraid this procedure is to be repeated for every municipality and you need to know your rental licence plate number.

Regarding hotels, are you sure that staying inside the ZTLs is a good idea if you husband is disabled? How does he handle stairs?

Thank you all so much for the detailed information! This is very helpful for planning our trip.

Hello,
You do realize you will need an International Driver's Permit as well which you can obtain at any Triple AAA office. And just to let you know, bring your husbands Disabled Letter from the Social Security Administration stating he is disabled (white out any financial information and his Medicare number) and that will get you free admission or discounted at various tourist sites (and sometimes his "companion" as well. Europe in general is extremely accommodating to Disabled persons and very generous in allowing them to visit many tourist sites for free. For The Colosseum you put in the day and time you want tickets and then choose Free According to Regulation, 1 for Disabled person and 1 for person accompanying the disabled person.

https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en/eventi/24h-colosseo-foro-romano-palatino/?t=2025-08-30T10%3A15%3A00Z

Same for The Pantheon- only use Official site link below-many online say they are Official site, but they are a third-party website.
https://pantheonrome.it/tickets/reserve/

A "US placard" is issued by a state, not the federal government, and does not necessarily cover other states in the US.

Demi Hale, thanks so much for this information! We do have our IDPs and will definitely bring the letter from the Veterans Administration.