SIM for Italy?

I believe TIM and Vodafone have the largest networks on the island and either one should be fine. There is a shop in the airport called Trade News in the departure lounge that sells SIMs but it's after security. I'd ask at a TI or car rental counter where you could buy a SIM and ask for their recommendation as well. Be aware that in some of the more rural areas of the island, particularly in the mountains, there is no cell service. If you are going to use your phone for mapping, you'll need off line maps downloaded in advance. I used Google Maps exclusively on Sardinia and it worked beautifully, seamlessly switching between on and offline maps as needed.

That squares with what I have seen elsewhere - seems like TIM/Vodaphone are biggest with best coverage. Good to know there's probably an option right in the airport, as we are hoping to grab our car and speed away from the center of tourism in the Costa Smeralda.

I do understand that there will be more than a few places with no cell coverage at all - that's OK. I'm keeping my expectations low for connectivity.

We will have a dedicated GPS we're bringing from home, so will not be dependent on cellular service to navigate (and will have a good Michelin map on paper, for the complete trifecta: iPad, GPS + paper map).

Thanks Phillip, good info as always - much appreciated.

I had a good experience with TIM in Italy. They have a sim for tourists. Last time i was there it was called "Welcome". It provided a generous amount of talk minutes plus data. I was able to use my phone as a wifi hotspot so my other devices could also use the data. I suggest you find dealer close to your hotel rather than one at the airport so that you can easily go back to sort out any difficulties which may arise. Mine took an hour to activate and also initially had a setting which sent me a confirmation text everytime i made a call, costing me money. Trying to call TIM for customer service was impossible without Italian fluency.