Italy rules for vacation when need to bring Prescription pain and anxiety medications

My wife carries a small drug store with her--in the original bottles. And she is carrying 2-3 controlled substances.

Never has she been questioned about her medicines by anyone.

Carry on with your trip and do not be concerned.

Agree with above
Be prepared as you have planned

I have never been asked about medications or asked to show etc

Past discussions
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Medication+Italy+

FYI- RS and his staff do not answer questions on this Forum. Input is provided by fellow travelers, based on their experiences and research.
Wishing you a great trip.

I travel with 4 prescription meds. Same with my wife. I stick them all in one container which goes with my carry on. I carry the empty containers in the checked baggage, in case I need to show them. Since over the counter meds are very expensive in Italian pharmacies, my friends ask me to bring a large supply of over the counter ibuprofen for several of them. Between my wife and I, we carry bottles for about 1000 and more 200mg gels. My friends call me Roberto Escobar. Nobody gives a damn about your prescription drugs, but just in case, just carry what you said you already have. Italian authorities have bigger fish to catch (like Roberto Escobar).

If for some reason you are stopped, as long as you have your prescription (the label on the container) that has the name of the med, your name, doctor's name, prescribing dosage, you will be fine.

As long as you don' t have a ridiculous amount with you that would last much longer than your trip, they really aren't concerned. They know people take medications.

But if you are really not sure, you can contact the closest Italian consulate to where you live and ask about specific drugs.

Thanks to each of you for your help!

Any others that have had experiences with Italy keep posting.

Have any of you carried prescription controlled medications through Marco Polo Venice airport?

Yes, I have done so.
I have carried controlled medications, in their original bottles from a USA pharmacy, into various airports in both Italy and Spain and, as I mentioned, no one has ever looked into my medicines, or looked at anything else that I've carried into Italy or Spain. And I visit those two countries several times a year, always carrying my prescribed medications. I always carry at least a month's supply, or more, depending on the length of my trip.

Thank you! Have you visited in 2024 or 2025

I have been travelling in and out of Italy for 30 years (born UK now living in Italy) and never ever has anyone shown any interest in medications when going through security - cheese attracts far more attention!

I would be more worried about trying to smuggle a salame or prosciutto into the US. For some reason the US Customs officers are always interested in those when I fly back to the US, and they will quickly seize them if you carry any. I think the US customs officers use that excuse to get Italian cold cuts for themselves

Thank all of you for taking time to share your experiences!! I really appreciate each reply!!

In travel in Europe including many months over the years total in Italy I have never had anyone look at my meds which now are a sizable number. When we traveled with a kid with anxiety meds, we had a doctor's letter but again never asked for. If I had drugs that might be abused e.g. opiates, tranquilizers, anxiety meds then I would be careful to keep them in their prescription bottles and have a list on your doctor's letterhead. But you are VERY unlikely to ever have anyone look at them.

I carry my two inhalers my arthritis meds and my other pain meds. Never been stopped or asked about it ever.

I've carefully carried my ambien in it's original containers 50 times too big for the contents countless times into many countries. No one has ever shown the slightest interest in viewing my careful toting of medicine. The only thing anyone has ever taken any interest in is my tiny scissors for my mustache. Even though they have always been clearly legal according to TSA (1 .5 inches measured from the pivot point to the tip) they were confiscated in Dublin on return to the US.

It sounds like original bottles are not necessarily needed? We normally use pill cases, even at home, and when we went to South Africa I carried all the various bottles - it took up a large part of a backpack for the 4 of us…I’d love to avoid that if I can.

I doubt you need those small orange containers pharmacies use in the US. They are not used in Italy at all. When you get a prescription medicine at an Italian pharmacy the medicine is sold to you in the original manufacturing box from the drug maker, obviously the box given to you will be in the dosage prescribed. So for example you might get the original box with 10 pills or 20 or 30 depending on what your Rx says. But I've never seen the little plastic orange containers in Italy, not only when I lived there but even more recently when sometimes, during my yearly visits, I bought meds for my mother when she was still alive (before 2023). I'm sure the Italian customs officers may have seen those carried by American travelers, but I doubt they would be considered essential. Anybody can get one of those containers, print a fake label with a name, and slap it on the little container. I've never been stopped by officers who asked to see my drugs (and I mix them all up in one container so I minimize space in my bag), but if they did, I presume they'd be more interested to see an actual doctor prescription than the little orange container.

I never got much comfort in advice that includes "I felt .... " and "It never happened to me ...." As apparently the rules are not published in English by the Italians, I would follow the recommendations here: https://gogoitalia.com/en/blog/how-to-bring-medication-to-italy/#:~:text=Travelers%20must%20carry%20a%20doctor's,of%20Health%20prior%20to%20arrival.

This is interesting too: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/03/05/traveling-with-medicine-prescriptions/72685069007/

I tend to be overly cautious and overly concerned about obeying the laws of the country that I am a guest in. But checking the details of each country isn’t always realistic. So, no narcotics without checking with the consulate or embassy of the country I am visiting.

Most of the European nations that I have checked have made an issue of original packaging and letters from doctors. I had to move to Europe to understand why. Where I live prescriptions are confiscated by the pharmacy so having one to show isn’t possible. So the doctor’s letter is necessary. I am guessing a US prescription would serve as the doctor’s letter. Then the packaging rule is because European meds are sold in blister packs, not unsealed bottles. It’s a way of proving what you have in your hand is what it says it is. No way to comply with that with US drugs but at least use the original bottle.

The answer to your question is "yes; I have carried these types of medications into both Italy and Spain, several times each, in 2024 and 2025."

Yes, I have carried that type of medication through Venice airport.

I am in Spain right now. Never has anyone in any airport looked for even one second at the medications I carry. As I mentioned on another thread, I was pulled over for customs inspection two weeks ago; all they did was put my bag through a scanner. No one looked at the medications. No one even took out the bag of medications from my suitcase.

I think you've gotten a lot of responses here already from people with personal experience.
Now it's up to you....if you think you have to cancel your trip, then you have to do just that.
I think that would be a shame.