Overnight car parking in Italy

Is the private parking area, to which you refer, a secured parking area?

I was told a good rule of thumb when choosing parking is to look for a sparkly parking lot. That means it's covered in little pieces of broken glass which obviously is not a ringing endorsement.

If the town square is not in a ZTL then you can park there. If the paid lot is a secure lot I would probably choose that instead.

Donna

Thank you. From your comments, I think it is better to park in a secure lot without sparkly glass shards rather than on the town square.

I'd be more worried in a big city than in small towns.
Just make sure the parking lot is in a well lit area that is not secluded. I don't think there are a lot of private guarded parking lots in small villages, except for highly touristy towns.
I've lived half of my life in Florence and the other half in the SF Bay Area.
I've had way more car break-ins in California than in Italy, and the less than a handful I had in Italy were, with one exception, in big cities.
Therefore based on my personal experience I have concluded that getting a car burglarized is more likely to happen in or around Oakland than in most places I've been in Italy.
Anecdotal but that should put that into perspective.
Don't leave valuables visible in the van anyhow.

Also make sure you are not parking in a lot that will be cleared overnight for market days, your car will be towed.

The problem with parking is as a stranger you don't know local dangers. I once talked with someone who had all their luggage stolen from the trunk of their car at a beach in Italy. Apparently a gang of locals preyed on rental cars parked near that beach. This is one reason for the 'sparkly rule' -- if there is a lot of sparkle, there may be routine window smashing. I'd never park the van with luggage (vans are worst because you can see into them so easily.) and would if possible use monitored parking. If you are renting, the landlord may be able to give advise on safe areas to park.

also remember that it's not hard to spot a rental car so it will be targeted wherever it is. Here in LA I wish I could monetize my ability to spot rentals half a block away. And not just by the driving!