I have read so many opinions on not wearing or wearing shorts in Italy. We are two couples late 50's. Have also read people's credit cards being "copied" and used, so how can you make reservations without a credit card, or do anything else for that matter?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
If you feel comfortable wearing shorts you should. I don't wear shorts when visiting Italy unless I'm at the beach. If you wear shorts you won't be able to visit any churches as they require knees to be covered.
As for credit cards, I haven't heard of it being a major problem. You may be thinking about ATM cards. The main thing to know with those is to only use them when the bank is open, cover the pin pad well so no one can see what your pin is and if your card gets stuck one person should stay at the machine while the other goes into the bank to get help. This will prevent anyone who might have tampered with the machine from taking your card when you walk away.
With your credit cards, make sure to let your cc company know you're traveling and where and when you'll be using the cards so they don't put a fraud hold on them. Make sure to keep your receipts for all purchases made with the cards and you should be fine. If someone does steal your number you can put in a claim.
Donna
Posted by
Northville, Mi, Usa
12 posts
Just returned from nine days in Italy and heat was oppressive (95-100 every day). We brought pants from REI with the zip off bottoms and wore those for the days we knew we would be visiting "prime" churches/duomos (Vatican, etc.) just to avoid any trouble.
That said, there were people in shorts inside every single location we visited. In some churches they would provide a paper drape (some free, some charge one euro) to cover shoulders. Saw a few people covering legs with them, but they appeared to be in extremely short skirts/shorts.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10607 posts
Another suggestion about credit/debit cards - in addition to letting your card company or bank know you are traveling, you should carry the fraud number with you. If they do put a fraud hold on your card you will be able to contact them to get it straightened out.
A couple of years ago a fraud hold was put on my debit card, even though I notified my credit union that I would be traveling, where I would be, and when I would be there. After the first time I used my debit card they put a fraud hold on it. They called my house and spoke to my brother, who was staying at my house while we were gone. They said they needed to speak with me, because there was suspicious activity in Europe. He told them I was not available, as I was traveling in Europe. Duh... I had to call them from Paris to take care of it.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
Most hotels want a card for the reservation, so one thing you can do if you're worried about it being copied is use a credit card you seldom use; its easy to monitor it for sudden usage. But fundamentally you're worried about the wrong things. You may remember reading about credit card fraud (seems to happen to my elderly mom every few months, and she never leaves the LA area) but more realistic worries are rain when you want to be hiking, a late train, a strike closing the museums.
Posted by
Henson, Florida, USA
466 posts
The heat can be very bad in Italy so if you don't plan on visiting any churches go ahead and wear shorts!! You'll see lots and lots of people in shorts and they are not all Americans. Have fun!!!!
Posted by
Austin, TX, USA
492 posts
We wear the zip off pants when in Italy because we love to stop in churches we come across and want to be respectful when going in so can easily zip on/off our pant legs to have long pants or shorts again for when wandering around. I carry a large-ish DSLR camera so we look like tourists no matter what we are wearing. For the credit card issue, we just call to make our reservations and give them the credit card numbers over the phone, never a problem. We tend to use credit cards very little in Italy and mostly get cash from ATMs to pay for most things, hotels and B&Bs being the primary thing we use credit cards for. We also will use various booking sites for information and rate comparisons, but almost always book directly with the hotels themselves and they have always met any special deals or prices if we mention them.
Posted by
cincinnati, ohio, usa
129 posts
when i was in venice in may it was quite hot at times but i always take and wear light moisture wicking pants...i swear they feel cooler than shorts plus the sun is not beating down on your skin...