Dreaded Zona traffico Limitato

Robert, there are many towns and cities in Italy that have the ZTLs. I'm betting that most of us on the site can't name more than a fraction of the towns and cities with ZTLs. I'm not aware of any one website that lists them either. We comment mostly about Florence but there are many others. It would be easier for you to tell us where you may be driving than it would for us to list all of the towns and cities.

Not all cities with ZTLs have them in service all the time, for example, Orvieto has specific hours when the ZTL is in effect. This information is listed on a flashboard at the entrance to the ZTL. Some towns allow non-resident traffic for specific hotels. To be safe, you can assume that if there is a ZTL it is in the historic center.

My problem is that we will have a car for 5 weeks. There are too many towns to list. We will be in most of the hill towns in tuscany, Umbria. Abruzzo and Marghe as wells as Puglia and Basilicata. Also going to Matera and sorento.
This is why I was looking for a web site that lists where the ZTL,s are located.

Robert, I would suggest that the best thing to do is familiarize yourself with what the entrance to a ZTL looks like. It's never unmarked. There are signs in Italian that display the hours of operation. Here's a link to one of the best articles I've seen written about ZTLs. What you see in these pictures is what you will see on the streets. If you approach such an entrance, you will need to back out. http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm If your hotel is in a ZTL, you are permitted by law to go to the hotel to drop off or pick up your luggage. However, you must make sure that the hotel person notifies the local police department and provides them with your license plate number. Don't assume that they will. I would suggest being assertive to make sure they do.

Thank you Larry

Robert, I've found ZTL areas both in the north and south, so you can expect to see them just about anywhere in Italy. Not all of them are enforced by automated Cameras as in Florence. In some cases, tickets will be issued by roving Police officers. There is a web site that shows the ZTL areas in Florence, but I'd have to do some searching to find it again. I don't know of any website that lists all of the ZTL areas in Italy. I think it's safe to say that you'll find them in many of the hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. I've noticed ZTL signs in Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, Cortona and other towns. I'm assuming that you'll be obtaining an I.D.P. for driving in Italy? Happy travels!

They are now in every town with an old historical center. Just keep an eye for the round symbol (white with red border) as explained in the link provided above. They are generally effective during the day hours, and are enforced by cameras only in some cities.
Just park in many of the parking lots outside the historical center. The historical center can be loosely defined as the area inside the perimeter of the ancient city walls of a city.

Robert, One other point to mention..... If you're going to be visiting Cortona, there's a nice car park just below the city and I believe it's free. From the car park, just cross the street and there are two Escalators that will take you up to Piazza Garibaldi(if one or more Escalators aren't working there are stairs). That Piazza is also where the Bus stop is located. From there it's very easy to walk to Piazza della Repubblica and other locations (lots of nice restaurants along Via Nazionale).

When I was in Varenna on Lake Como in June I was surprised to see that there was a dreaded ZTL in that small village. And a police car in the bottom left corner of it.

Pretty much all towns across Europe have something like a ZTL. The difference might be in the name or in the way the local authorities enforce the restrictions. The key is to be aware that European traffic signs are quite different from North American ones. You might not be able to read (let alone understand) all the small details of the additional signage at the entrance of a ZTL in an Italian town but it will always be accompanied by the international sign for restricted vehicular access: a simple red cirle, white in the middle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy

Best rule of thumb is to assume that all towns will, if you are simply passing through, look for the route around, if stopping to look or for the night, nearly all towns have parking on the outskirts, park there then walk or take the bus into the center. Oddly enough, that is exactly what the ZTL is intended to promote.

My technique is similar. Make for a parking lot near the center. Never plan to drive into or through an old center (even if you see other cars driving there). The first ZTLs I encountered were in Florence, where local traffic is okay but everyone else is photographed and ticketed.

I save the destinations on our Garmin GPS as parking lots (instead of hotel address). If you zoom in on a town on your GPS, look for the "P" and save as destination. If you are in towns in Rick Steve's book, it does a good job describing where parking lots are, if free, or for locals only. From the book's description, I could locate the "P" on the the GPS maps. We've driven twice in Italy and just look for parking lots as we approach the hill towns. Signs are good in general. If the first lot is empty, it probably means there are lots closer to the city center and the town in not "full" of visitors yet. If you are traveling light, just walk to your hotel instead of trying to get close.

I'm with Karen. RS guide books did not help us finding family-friendly hotels. But he was spot-on for parking lots: well outside the ZTL and not too far to walk in.