official and illegal guides in rome

alessandra,

Thanks for the information. Are the Guides that operate outside the Colosseum advertising "english tours" usually licensed? On my last visit there, I was told to avoid them and use the official tour inside the Colosseum.

Grazie!

Most of the guides outside the Colosseum are legit.
The situation in Rome it is very complex. a lot of the websites offer guided tours with native speakers but they are not licensed.
The police can make a control and stop the tour;the illegit guide will get a fine.

We toured the forum a couple of years ago with a licensed guide who was fantastic - I was recently in touch with her, and she now is doing Vatican tours also. If you want a recommendation just let me know and I will message her email - I don't think I should just post it here into the "Boot".

There are posts on other travel sites that are posting this same information (only to use licensed guides). I haven't seen any information posted about a tour guide that is not licensed that travelers are unhappy with.....

I haven't seen any complaints either.

This post smells of someone trying to protect a monopoly...

Yes it does. Same poster on another site. Some tour guide must be doing a great job!!

This post was only to inform, because many travellers do not know that in Italy ther are laws regarding tour guide activity.
To become a guide you must take a thorough exam about Rome or any other city you want to work in.

If you have not taken that exam and if you do not show that badge you're not a guide.
This is the law not my point of view.And it is not a monopoly since in Rome ther are over 1000 guides.

Alessandra: "The police can make a control and stop the tour;the illegit guide will get a fine."

So using an unlicensed guide is only a legal problem for the guide. That's helpful.

I guess the worries for the tourist using an unlicensed guide would be using a guide who turns out to be dishonest or bad at their job, or that the tour ends early if the police intervene.

As far as I know, the situation is the same in Pompeii. Our official guide yelled at a woman who was "guiding" in Pompeii. Apparently she led a tourist group. She ignored him.

This post was only to inform, because many travellers do not know that in Italy ther are laws regarding tour guide activity.

Most travelers know Italy has many laws covering almost everything. That's why we recently had a discussion about keeping restaurant receipts after leaving the restaurant...

However, your post seems intended to frighten tourists from using tour guides who haven't paid for a tourist bureau license. I'm guessing you work for the tourism bureau or else a high-priced guide service upset because the economy means fewer wealthy Americans are visiting.

Frankly, I don't mind paying $20 to an English or American grad student who can use the money to show me around. I would never pay $200 for an officially licensed tour guide.

Yes Italy has licensed guides. On our last trip to Rome we had a private guide that did not have a license. She was an Italian but had been waiting over two years to take the 2nd half of the exam. The exam simply hadn't been offered so she had no way of becoming a legal guide. Yes, they are trying to keep a monopoly on the trade by not allowing new guides.

I am really surprised to hear so many nasty comments about the Italian laws....

what if it was the other way round?
So could I fly tomorrow in the U.S. and start working as a guide for one year in the States?Would that be possible?
I believe that in the US you have some very restrictive laws regarding work.

As for the monopoly this is just ridicolous, at the moment exams for new guides are done very often (new Bersani laws) and the number of guides in Rome in enormous, I do not exactly, but certainly not a monopoly!

Anyway I do not work for any bureau or high priced company. And guides do not have to pay any fee to the Bureau of Tourism,they have to study and pass a difficult exam since the history of this city is very long and we have hundreds of sites of major interest.

Alessandra: "what if it was the other way round? So could I fly tomorrow in the U.S. and start working as a guide for one year in the States?"

So your problem is with the non-Italian citizens acting as unlicensed paid guides. That's fair. Most countries have laws designed to protect the jobs of the local citizens.

Everybody should obey the laws of the country they are in. That's just common sense.

On the other had, it helps if the officials enforce the local laws equally and fairly.

Patrick I do not have a problem with the non-Italian citizens , but I thought it was unfair to mock my country because it has laws for everything as somebody said.
Just an example:
The other day I was surprised when I read that in the US in a lot of states it is prohibited to hang the laundry outside (I do not know if this information is correct). For an Italian citizen this could sound very strange but well... each country has itw own laws and I think that we should respect the laws that we like or not.

Alessandra,

This is very helpful information. Thanks for posting it. This reminds me of similar laws in Seattle about street performers - If they want to perform in certain popular areas of the city, they have to apply for permits and sign up for certain times to do it. You're right that it's important to be aware of the laws of the country/place you're visiting.

As for Italy, I've long been fascinated by the love/hate relationship Italians have with authority and rules, dating back over the centuries. Americans also have a love/hate relationship with authority, but in a different way, I think.

Alessandra: "...I read that in the US in a lot of states it is prohibited to hang the laundry outside..."

That's probably not whole states, just certain wealthier communities here and there that consider hanging laundry outside unsightly. A lot of communities have beautification laws, and a lot of communities don't, but I'd say laws like this would be at the local level, not at the state or national level.

FYI--there are only two places in the U.S. that require guides to have a license--New York City and Washington, DC.

The New York City test used to be very simple. Now it includes essays. Besides paying for the test, you have to pay for the license and pay a renewal fee every year.

I just think it is strange that all of a sudden there are postings on various travel sites about only using "licensed" guides. If one from Italy is concerned about being "licensed", please don't even get me started about all of the gladiators outside the Collesum.....you know, the ones that the tourists pay their money to have the photo? I'm sure there is a licensed required for that too, but again you don't hear anyone on these boards complaining about it -- I'm sure nobody asks to see their license before the photo is taken.

Gary: "I just think it is strange..."

It is. But it's probably not worth all the time we've spent responding to it.