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Hi

Good advice! This applies to anything even a cup of coffee had while standing at the bar.

perhaps we should have a thread on

"Tips for the First Time Visitor" with things on it like;-

Always carry your passport
Don't eat yellow snow
etc
etc

.....Always validate your train ticket
..... Act dumb when stopped by a traffic policeman doing a routine stop,,, esp. near lunchtime

Never speak Italian to a policeman

[quote=Aretina;95826].....Always validate your train ticket
..... [/quote]

Same goes for Vaporetti ticket always validate it on the 3rd day of a 3 day pass.

Hey!! Hang on to your receipt, even if you are a resident!

It is to check that shopkeepers are putting transactions through the till and not doing it on ’the black’ and therefore not paying tax.

Excellent advice to become completely ‘foreign’ when faced with an Italian policeman.:laughs::laughs:

[quote=Nielo;95830]Excellent advice to become completely ‘foreign’ when faced with an Italian policeman.:laughs::laughs:[/quote]Voulez-vous vedere la mia scontrino officer? Scusa, ma je no parlo Italiano...

My memory is playing tricks with me even more often than usual these days, but I have a bell ringing in the back of my head telling me that the law was changed fairly recently regarding the shopper having to retain his/her receipt (scontrino) to allow them to no longer retain their receipt for, say, a cafè. I remember that it was under serious discussion when Del Turco was minister of finance a while back. Certainly, the [URL="http://www.gdf.it/GdiF_in_English/Can_we_give_you_a_piece_of_advice-5-/info-101219544.html"]Guardia di Finanza website[/URL] no longer warns that you must keep it as it used to. Certainly, the shop MUST issue a receipt (see link), but whether or not you have to keep it for 75 metres, I wouldn't like to claim it as a fact now.

I'm not sure how recently you might mean, but we were stopped back in March outside our favorite pizzeria and asked for a receipt...which we didn't have! Our friends who own the pizzeria had treated us that night, but apparently they should have given us a receipt stating that it was a gift! From a pizzeria!

We were afraid that we'd have to pay a fine too, but the guradia di finanzia said no. Someone later told us that the law regarding that recently changed, and that now only the shopkeeper is fined, not the customer. It's hard to know for sure....

Indeed. Perhaps the sensible course of action would be to keep the scontrino (till receipt) and take it home with you. It will save possible hassle should you be stopped by an ill-informed member of the constabulary.. .It will also help keep Italy tidy, of course, so a good thing to do in any case. I wouldn't panic that "they" are going to lock you up and throw away the key, as I've seem implied on some "informative" web sites.

Perhaps a legal expert might comment?

I actually had been told a few days ago by my Italian lawyer friend. He kept the ristorante receipts for the requisite number of metres then disposed of them.

I'm confused. What is the logic behind the 300 metre rule? A VAT cheat is a VAT cheat irrespective of his/her distance from the place of the transaction, or am I missing something here? A tad kafkaesque in my opinion.

Ciao,

Santiago

I have not been able to find anything explaining the 300 metre rule, but this is the official text advising all citizens:

[url=http://www.gdf.it/gdif_per_il_cittadino/consigli_utili/info-2066592569.html]Guardia di Finanza - Scontrini e ricevute fiscali[/url]

Amazing the list of details that we, as clients, should check on the ticket. It is absolute madness!!!

I've stayed in the same hotel a few times and never been given a bill/receipt. suppose I won't be too popular if I next time ask for a receipt, will I ? :nah:

I suppose the 300 metre rule is a sort of distance giving the fiscale police time to stop you after leaving an establishment. If they stood right outside the door the staff would spot them.

They have had this law in for a number of years as i can remember my dad mentioning it to me, back in the early nineties, when he lived in Tuscany, as i thought it was a bit odd.

There are some other daft laws that he has told me about over the years, but off the top of my head i can't remember what they are.

I know you can't have BBQ's in a built up area, as my neighbours just found out...

It be wonderful if others came up with these so called daft laws

I saw an official suddenly appear at a stall in La Spezia market and caution the stall holder about failing to give the 'scontrino' after a transaction. He had obviously been observing. He wasn't wearing a uniform so didn't draw attention.

I also learnt that men are not allowed to walk around Italian cities bare chested. Thank God.

[quote=Sally Donaldson;95856]I also learnt that men are not allowed to walk around Italian cities bare chested. Thank God.[/quote]

As long as the women are - who cares?

Oh my God”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is so that shop keepers/assistants put the transaction through the till. Same as the £9.99 in the UK where they have to open the till to give you your 1p change.

It is also illegal for a taxi in London not to have a bale of hay in the boot for the horse and it is legal for anyone to shoot a Welshman, with a bow and arrow, on a Sunday, within the confines of Chester.

If you buy anything in Italy get a receipt (unless you have an ‘understanding’) stick it in your purse or wallet and don’t chuck it away for a couple of days just in case. Hardly the end of civilisation as we know it!!!lol

[quote=Nielo;95861]
It is also illegal for a taxi in London not to have a bale of hay in the boot for the horse and it is legal for anyone to shoot a Welshman, with a bow and arrow, on a Sunday, within the confines of Chester.[/quote]
Nielo - you should have your posting abilities taken away for at least a week for scaremongering. You must not make the good people of this forum fret by spreading such outrageous lies and gossip.

I have it on good advice that Welshmen can be shot every third Tuesday of the month and on most Thursday afternoons, as well as on Sundays - when they can also have their Wellingtons confiscated and be exiled to Scotland. :bigergrin:

Eh this thread is meant as a guide to Italy, not to what happens in the UK.

From The Internet Nationwide, the minister of welfare imposed a ban on massages offered by immigrants, warning of the possible dangerous effects of "aesthetic or therapeutic services" offered by those "not in possession of adequate training or competence".

[quote=juliancoll;95862]

I have it on good advice that Welshmen can be shot every third Tuesday of the month and on most Thursday afternoons, as well as on Sundays - when they can also have their Wellingtons confiscated and be exiled to Scotland. :bigergrin:[/quote]

:bigergrin::bigergrin:

In Viareggio, the benches may contain as many people as care to squeeze on to them, but if one of them puts his feet up on it he risks a fine.

By law in Italy every car must carry a yellow reflective vest for the driver and each passenger.

If you hire a car you will notice that only one yellow vest is provided with the car, so if there is more than just the driver in the car it is illegal.

But if you don’t speak Italian you are unlikely to be fined.:laughs::laughs:

In Naples it is dangerous to cross the road with your eyes closed. Actually in Naples it is just dangerous to cross the road full stop.:bigergrin:

[quote=Nielo;95877]In Naples it is dangerous to cross the road with your eyes closed. Actually in Naples it is just dangerous to cross the road full stop.:bigergrin:[/quote]
Or just dangerous....punto.

Some may not know this, as it is baffling, but when you drive to a crossroads, with no visible right of way, you have to give way to traffic coming from the RIGHT.

Which as you know is completely contrary to how a roundabout works, which is why you often (down here anyway) see drivers, that are actually on the roundabout, stopping to give way to the traffic, that comes from their right (who should be stopping to give way)

[quote=Sally Donaldson;95867]Eh this thread is meant as a guide to Italy, not to what happens in the UK. [/quote]

Who said you cant shoot a Scot in Italy - or exile him to Wales to return the Wellingtons? :laughs:

Another one - Two people may sit down on a park bench in the city of Novara, but if a third person joins them and it's after 11pm, all three are breaking the law!!!

New law demands bloggers to be journalists in Italy, prison as penalty

Saturday, 20 October 2007 Category: Web

"Apparently there is a [B]proposed[/B] new law in Italy that demands a Blogger or web publisher to be registered with the government and pay a fee, even if your blog doesn’t have anything to do with making money, that applies to a teenager writing on his/her hobby as much as a problogger.

This is called the Levi-Prodi law (legge levi-prodi) and, as I understood it, its draft was officially approved in october 12. You can see Beppe Grillo’s (the most famous blogger in Italy) post on this, in english or in Italian.

It is absurd that a country decides to chose by a professional title those who are allowed to publicly express themselves and try to government control what is the right and relevant information from what is not.

Besides the obvious fascist censorship problem, I question myself how are they going to:

Decide what is a blog from what is a non-blog page? The line between them is often very thin. Do profiles on social networks count? How about a youtube playlist?
Count contributions you make to other blogs, like relevant comments and guest posts. Would count you as a blogger? Would you need a license to make relevant comments?
Hunt down the enormous amount of people that will be in the illegality from one moment to the next and those who (hopefully) will refuse to accept this.
Apply it to a foreign blogger that writes in his blog while he visits Italy
Apply it to an Italian blogger writing on a blog completely unrelated to Italy"

[
Go on Sal - test it out.

Start a blog, then hand yourself in.

If we don't here how you got on - we'll assume you're in clink.

.

Sally, I don't mean to sound as though I'm carping, but did you not notice the date on that particular article? Things have moved on considerably since then - a new government being just one of the changes.

Yes Nardini, I noticed the date, October 2007. I merely handed down information that I gleaned from The Internet.

Thanks for letting me know that in fact the law was not in fact passed, merely mooted. I'm relieved now Alan can relax knowing there;s no danger of not hearing from me!!! lol

[quote=Sally Donaldson;95954]Yes Nardini, I noticed the date, October 2007. I merely handed down information that I gleaned from The Internet. [/quote]
It illustrates the danger of relying something you read on the internet without checking it out as best as you can first. There is a huge amount of wrong information that you can easily find on the internet and it is really very important to check a story out before passing it on as a fact. Have you looked at [URL="http://www.snopes.com/"]Snopes[/URL], Sally? You would probably find it interesting - but, please, don't repeat any of the stories that are reported on there! Ciao!

Nardini, not my kind of website, sorry.

[quote=Nielo;95861]Oh my God”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it is legal for anyone to shoot a Welshman, with a bow and arrow, on a Sunday, within the confines of Chester.
[/quote]
How many Welshmen with a bow and arrow have you seen in Chester? :eerr: Anyway - what's what they carry got o do with it? What if he has a gun? Can't we just shoot them anyway?:winki:

Tis also compulsory to step into the road (at least in the UK) out of the way of a Roman soldier (or a hoodie).

Also the well-worn one - every Englishman must practice with the long bow on a Sunday (I think) on the village green.

I reiterate off topic - sorry M&C

Nardini as the expert, is this one true??? - Be great if it were!!! [url=http://www.betanews.com/article/New_Italian_law_may_have_unintentionally_legalized_MP3_sharing/1201903111]BetaNews | New Italian law may have unintentionally legalized MP3 sharing[/url]

[quote=Sally Donaldson;95959]Nardini, not my kind of website, sorry.[/quote]You make it sound as though it a hot-porn, Gary Glitter type of website!

It is a good place to start looking [URL="http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/inboxer.asp"]when you next get an email that you are tempted to pass on to all of your friends and relatives[/URL] about an emotive, but untruthful, subject. Try it - your friends will thank you for it! LOL!1!!

[quote=Sally Donaldson;95962]I reiterate off topic - sorry M&C

Nardini as the expert, is this one true??? - Be great if it were!!! [URL="http://www.betanews.com/article/New_Italian_law_may_have_unintentionally_legalized_MP3_sharing/1201903111"]BetaNews | New Italian law may have unintentionally legalized MP3 sharing[/URL][/quote]The story you link to is dependant on the translation of the definition of "lossy" when applied to a compressed file format, such as MP3. For sure, the draft was very "iffy" with precise definition but, however, any failings in the technical definition would be easy to amend. I am not up to date with the current legal standing of the law in question - due, dare I say, to lack of interest - so I cannot give you a precise answer. However, I'm sure that there are people that pass through this website that would be in a position to clarify the law for you, if it really mattered to you. Anyone?

[quote=Nardini;95966]The story you link to is dependant on the translation of the definition of "lossy" when applied to a compressed file format, such as MP3. [/quote]

no it isn't dependant [B]on the translation -[/B] which is entirely correct and accurate with respect to the wording of the proposed law:

"È consentita la libera pubblicazione attraverso la rete internet, a titolo gratuito, di immagini e musiche [COLOR=Red]a bassa risoluzione o degradate[/COLOR], per uso didattico o scientifico e solo nel caso in cui tale utilizzo non sia a scopo di lucro"

It [B]is[/B] dependant on the [B]interpretaion[/B] of "low resolution" or "degraded" (either before or after translation) when applied to any digital storage format containing copyrighted content, including, but not limited to, mp3 audio.

mp3 is a compressed format with a maximum bitrate of 320kbit/s. The format used to digitise/encode music and write it to CD is 16 bit stereo @ 44.1Khz sampling rate using PCM (i.e. uncompressed). This only approximates to actual analogue audio fidelity; that sampling rate was chosen as it produces faithful reproduction of frequencies upto 22.05Khz (or just above the normal 20Khz upper range of the [I]average[/I] human ear). This requires a bit rate of approx. 1140Kbit/s. mp3 is therefore inherently degraded in technical terms as the compression used to shrink the file results in information loss.

By contrast, there are several entirely "lossless" compression formats (eg. FLAC), which are commonly used on P2P sites to upload 100% accurate copies of ripped CD's within a smaller space than would be occupied by the CD's uncompressed audio data - In the same way as a zip file compresses a spreadsheet "losslessly". These types of compressed file would therefore not be exempt under the proposed law, being neither degraded or low resolution wrt. the CD original.

Unless this law was subsequently redrafted to clarify the [B]extent [/B]of degradation or the [B]limit [/B]of resolution that it allowed, then mp3's would, as an inherently lossy format, indeed be exempt from Italian copyright infringement ...
[I][B]but only if you could demonstrate that your upload/download of such content fell within the allowable purposes (non-profit scientific/educational use)[/B][/I].

Good ol' Pigro to the rescue. Sally can now sleep peacefully at night - knowing all there is to know about bitrates, compressed formatting and analogue audio fidelity in upper ranges. :laughs: