We just received 3 tickets from Florence from our trip last summer. We apparently drove in an area where we did not have a permit to drive. The streets looked normal to us and there were always cars on the streets. We were only driving in Florence for about a half an hour to drop off our car. We received 3 tickets within a 15 minute period and 2 of them are 2 minutes apart. They are $120 each! This is absurd! How were we to get to our car rental company and how were we supposed to know? Does anyone recommend a way to fight these tickets? I think it's a money-making ploy and it's just not right. Thanks!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
There have been several discussions of this in the last year. If it's already charged to your card (your rental contract says your rental company can do this if it receives the ticket), so far no one here has found a way to get the charges taken off. It's not clear how one gets "prior authorization" to drive into the city center or where the boundary line is--so the bottom line is: don't drive a rental car into the Florence city center.They have computerized cameras, apparently a lot of them. This has happened to more than a few Helpline participants in the last year. We have been trying to get out the word on the Helpline. It's frustrating but if it is charged to your credit card, that's it. If it's not, some people have not paid but then some of them are concerned about going back to Florence.
Posted by
Peoria, Illinois, USA
48 posts
Kent, Does anyone know where this invisible 'no drive' line is? If you pick up/drop off at the airport it costs more, so I quess they get you one way or another.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
I'd argue the zone is pretty well signed. I can't remember what the exact message is but along the lines of "Zona Limitado" with a camera. Basically, it's the historic center from the train station to the river. The rental car agencies are outside the zone. But, though I've offered advice for renting a car in Florence and driving out, I wouldn't drive or park for any length of time in the city. If I had a car when I was visiting, I'd look for a place outside the central city to stay in.
There are similar zones in other cities - Verona certainly, and I've heard in Arrezzo.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
I don't mean to be too breezy about the signage. You need to be aware that these zones exist. If I were driving into the Florence center for the first time not knowing that they try to exclude cars, I don't think I would notice the signs.
Having known that the zones were there, I was able to look for the signs and found them easily.
Posted by
Peoria, Illinois, USA
48 posts
Thanks Kent & Doug. I'm planning on renting a car in Orvieto, spend a few days in Tuscano, and dropping it off (first thing!) in Firenze. I would consider dropping it off in Siena and taking the bus if we could stop at the US Cemetery and then take a later bus to the city center. Do you know if this is possible.