Will a copy of my passport work at advanced ticket sites?

You are required by law to carry your passport
Whether a photocopy will be accepted is unpredictable
If visiting these sites is important you should have your passport as required
Keep it deep on your person so you don’t lose it
Nobody wants to steal your passport

Lots of discussion here in forum.
This is the latest thread

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/passport-checks-in-naples

The post about the requirements of passports is correct and you should heed it and check the forum for other threads where this discussed if you have more questions.

That being said, I have never been asked for ID when using pre-booked tickets in Italy. This includes tickets that came with a discount where it was stated “you’ll be asked to prove that you qualify for the discount“ e.g. senior discount. Maybe certain sites have anti-resale policies they want to enforce, personally it has never happened to me and they seem more interested in moving the lines along.

My $.02, have a great trip,
-Tod

I have never had anyone reject my xeroxed passport as a personal ID, but in fairness, I have not been asked by the police in a crime-like situation. In a case where I had to "leave my passport" as security for an audioguide (in Italy, at Hadrian's Villa), the young person in the booth was greatly relieved when I presented a xerox. Evidently they were nervous about a real passport getting lost, as far as I could tell from his English.

And certainly, I carry my real passport in autocratic nations, or to a place like the Reichstag, where I know it is the only acceptable ID.

I've been to Europe about fifty times, so I am not more impressed by rules quoted to me in a scolding tone.

Congratulations Tim that you are able to correctly discern tone from a written post. Especially one that is merely quoting rules.

Times change, and so do rules. Many European sites are clamping down on scalpers, hence the requirement for nominative tickets and requirements for ID. And police in some cities are also clamping down on illegal immigrants, hence the more frequent 'random' ID checks on the street or in train stations. The only legal ID for non Europeans is a passport. Previous threads have contained the quoted official Italian law, along with the penalty for failing to provide it when asked.

A photocopy is not an official document. Will a ticket taker at a tourist site accept it? Possibly. Will they accept your DL as security for your audioguide? Probably. But if they dont, then what? The current recommendation is to carry your passport securely ( neck wallet, money belt, hidden pocket etc) so you can provide it whenever needed. Its your choice what you decide to do.

Because my passport is deeply stowed, I always offer a driver's license first as a form of ID at sites. When that hasn't been accepted, I go to a private place to access my passport. I've never had trouble using the driver's license as the security deposit (for audio guides, etc.). I recently started carrying my passport card to use instead of the driver's license. I have no data on whether or not that would be acceptable as an ID at sites when the driver's license isn't.

I’ve always shown my passport, not a copy of it.