Hi, does anyone have information on how to discern road or highway categories in Sicily. I am using google and then zooming in to street view but it would be nice to have an idea of what type of road I might be traveling. For example on various routes I see a numerical road designation preceded with either "SS", "SP", or "E". Also, is there a specific way to identify the autostrada? Thanks!
Posted by
Paris
10322 posts
SS = Strada Statale
SP = Strada Provinciale
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16157 posts
SS=Strada Statale (State Road)
SR=Strada Regionale (Regional Road)
SP=Strada Provinciale (Provincial Road)
A=Autostrada
E=European Road designation which is added to Axx (autostrade) or SS (Strada Statale), when the road has European significance and receives EU funds.
Many Autostrade in Google are designated as E only, you have to zoom in very close to see the A number (which is actually what you will see on the road signs) or the SS number.
For example Messina-Palermo shows E90 but if you zoom in down to the bottom eventually the A designation (A20 in this case) will pop up.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Also, is there a specific way to identify the autostrada?
Not surprisingly, Those beginning with an A are Autostradas. Memorize that Green signs are used only for autostradas.
Otherwise you could read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrade_of_Italy if you want to see the full list and immerse yourself also into the amazing world of alpine tunnels (green T-something signs) and motorway connections (green RA-something signs).
Nobody but Google and the bureaucrats in the European Union uses and remembers the E-something lettering system. For the reason you have just pointed out: it says nothing about the road itself.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7229 posts
I’ll only add that when I drove in Sicily a few years ago, I felt road signage to be minimal to non existent in rural areas. There were times I had no idea which road I was on. Thank goodness there were a few signs pointing towards towns and even better I had a navigation system (Garmin and downloaded Google maps).
Posted by
OP
New Jersey
220 posts
THANK YOU - Kim, Dario, jaimeelsabio and last but not least Roberto da Firenze!
Posted by
390 posts
We drove no “interstate” highways in Sicily, just more local roads. Except for Naples it was easy driving til you got to towns. Several times locals helped us. A police man drove us to the TI center in Agrigento. out in the countryside we stopped for help from a group of men hanging out on a corner. One was driving into the town we were staying at and guided us there. We used a big paper map so you could see all the towns and connecting roads. This gave us some more rural options in exploring Sicily. The people and food were the highlights of our 2 weeks.