I'm on the fence about visiting Italy, traveling from the USA, this spring in light of current events.
I expect that there will be some chaos due to the unthinkable refugee situation in Ukraine.
I know there are no guarantees but could there be significant travel disruptions?
Am I being overly cautious? Maybe we need to accept some risk in order to live our lives.
Interested in your thoughts.
Thanks!
Some of our best European trips were when there were some hot spots flaring up in the world.
We were in the Hofbrauhaus in Munich one Saturday night, and we were the only Americans there. Never seen that before.
You should be okay in Italy to travel. I'd just try to stay away from the countries bordering The East.
Unless Putin decides to attack a NATO country you won't see any impact in Italy. Most of the Ukrainian refugees are likely to flee to Poland, since they border each other, and their languages are similar. Italy has a large immigrant community from the Ukraine (it's the 5th largest immigrant group), and I'm sure many will host some relatives escaping the home country, but nothing to be concerned about.
If Putin decides to attack a NATO country then it become a problem for all, even at home in the US.
So far there are no refugee camps.
So far there are no strings of refugees along the roads.
So far about 65% have crossed into Poland, the rest into Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova; which also share borders with Ukraine.
So far Europeans are opening their doors in significant numbers to take them in.
So far Putin has not attacked NATO.
To be applauded are the Polish people because now and in recent years they have buried centuries of war and distrust to unite against Russian aggression.
There is one four star hotel in Romania that has opened its ballroom as a temporary shelter for those Ukranian refugees traveling to a new destination. Here's a video:
I expect that there will be some chaos
So far, Around 35,000 refugees Have arrived. Most are staying with relatives or fellow countrymen, the 350,000 Ukrainian immigrants who've been living in Italy for decades.
No, thousands of people who already have families and friends in a country of 50 millions do not cause chaos. I'm still waiting to see my first actual refugee from Syria.
Refugees do not look like being a problem; Ukrainians seem relatively easy to integrate.
Fuel prices are already skyrocketing; yesterday I saw petrol at eur 2,14/litre (it would be almost usd 9 per gallon), and a rise in prices in food and energy is expected.
If Russia's gas exports are cut, Italy has reserves for a few weeks. After that, I would expect some cuts to energy consumption mandated by law, such as lower heating temperatures or shorter air conditioning hours. We already had such things in 1973, including a ban on cars on Sunday (but petrol prices would be enough to rein consumption). According to some simulations, controlled blackouts could be necessary. But that would be in next winter.
If WWIII begins you would be marginally safer in the US (better missile defences) but not really safe anywhere. A thing nobody considers is that there are many intermediate degrees between a distant war and Armageddon; while Armageddon is unlikey (well, we hope so), getting back home in an emergency, even an intermediate one, is often a nuisance.
Your apprehension is perfectly understandable but I wouldn't change any plans based on the current situation in Ukraine. I agree with the other comments who say that this conflict is not coming to Italy. We are going to Italy in late May/early June and don't anticipate any disruptions. I remember one time we were in Rome and there was a bombing at an embassy there. We heard about the bombing from our family who were back in the states. We never even knew something happened so close to where we were staying. I think that if a bomb goes off in the same city and it doesn't impact me then a war happening 1300 miles away won't impact me either. In the end you'll need to do what you think is best. Good luck with whatever you decide.
All the Ukrainian refugees that arrived in Italy this past 10 days wouldn't even fill half of the seats inside the Colosseum.
https://step.state.gov/
This may help to add some piece of mind for you also if you haven’t already registered your trip. On one of our trips we received info on protests and other actions happening in cities that we were going to visit. Site also lists Embassies and Consulates I believe.
Thank you everyone for your comments and feedback
